Nyeri, Sept. 11 — Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe has announced a sweeping new livestock identification system that will require every cow, sheep and goat in Kenya to carry a yellow tag, warning that owners caught with untagged animals will have to explain themselves to police.
Unveiling the Animal Identification and Traceability (ANITRAC) program at the Central Kenya National Show in Nyeri, Kagwe said the tags are designed to crack down on cattle rustling, strengthen disease surveillance and open doors to international export markets that demand strict traceability standards.
“Every cow will have a yellow ANITRAC tag. If you are found with cattle without the tag, you must explain to the police,” Kagwe said, adding a stern warning against tampering: “If somebody has cattle whose ears have been cut off, the police should arrest that person.”
Under the system, tagged animals become far harder to move or sell undetected, a direct blow to livestock theft networks, while giving authorities the ability to trace animals quickly during disease outbreaks and supply the documentation needed to access lucrative export markets.
The tagging drive runs alongside an ongoing national vaccination campaign that has already covered more than 20 million animals. No timeline has yet been given for when the tagging requirement will be fully rolled out nationwide.