Keeping things legal when starting a flock

Want to start your own sheep flock? Be it half a dozen ewes or several hundred, the same principles apply. 

The information here is provided as a guide and a starting point for finding information relevant to where you are in the UK and the type of enterprise you wish to establish.

Keeping things legal: To become a sheep keeper you need to obtain several things before and during taking ownership:

1. County Parish Holding Number (CPH). To register sheep, you must first obtain a CPH number for the land where the animals will be kept. This is issued by the Rural Payments Agency (or DAERA in Northern Ireland). 

• RPA England 
• RPA Wales
• RPA Scotland
• DAERA Northern Ireland - Click here. 

2. Movement licence. When you first bring sheep on to your holding (and every subsequent movement thereafter) the move must be reported to the relevant authority. You can do this on paper or electronically in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. For information on movement reporting in your region, follow the links below.

• England
• Wales
• Scotland
• Northern Ireland 

3. Flock Number. Once you receive your CPH number, your animals can be moved to your holding under a general licence. You’ll then need to register your flock with Defra by contacting the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), using your CPH number as a reference. Click here to find contact details for the APHA in England, Wales and Scotland. 

4. Holding Register. As a sheep keeper you must obtain a Holding Register for your flock and keep this updated. The register, includes your holding details, tag replacements, all sheep and goat movements on and off your holding, date of identification and deaths, annual count of animals on your holding as on 1 December each year, and individual records of sheep and goats born or identified after 31 December 2009. These can be a hard paper copy, for example a Defra-approved template can be found here but you can use an alternative that suits you (such as an online spreadsheet) if you prefer - just as long as it incorporates all the information and is clearly legible should you be visited by an inspector. Sheep keepers in England can use the Livestock Information Service online holding register which will automatically update when a movement is reported electronically. 

5. Eartags. All breeding animals require an electronic tag in one ear and a visual tag in the other, with alternative rules for lambs going to slaughter (not being kept as breeding animals) in England, Scotland and Wales.

• England. Full Defra guidance is here;
• Wales
• Scotland
• Northern Ireland

6. Veterinary/Medicine Book. As with your holding register, you can record the information in a way that best suits you and is clearly legible for an inspector. Click here for an approved list of what to record. Medicine usage can be recorded online using a farm management software app, alternatively the Animal Health Distributors Association (AHDA) publish an Animal Medicines Record Book at a small cost. 

Click here for information relevant to Northern Ireland.