DAERA extends opening hours for cattle registration telephony service

The opening hours of the DAERA cattle registration telephony system will be extended to 8:00pm each Wednesday evening, from 13th May to 15th July 2020, to assist farmers with the notification of calf births and cattle movements, Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots MLA has announced.

The telephony system, which is operated by specially trained DAERA Direct staff on a dedicated and secure telephone number, provides herd keepers with access to quick, error free transactions which can be completed without the need for paper forms or a visit to a DAERA Direct office. 

Minister Poots said: “The late night opening of the telephony service will be beneficial to a lot of our customers during what is normally a very busy period on livestock farms, but especially at this difficult time due to Covid-19 restrictions.  The service is very straightforward to use, and as the animal details are input immediately callers can be confident that their notifications will be processed instantly.

The telephony system is available Monday to Friday on 0300 200 7855 from 9:00am to 5:00pm, and to 8:00pm on Wednesday evenings between 13th May and 15th July.  

All calls are recorded and, similar to paper notifications, securely stored should a caller wish to check or verify the information provided at a later date.  

Minister Poots concluded: “I would advise all farmers to use the APHIS Online system, where possible, to notify calf births and cattle movements as it is quick, easy and available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. However, for those farmers who currently don’t have access to APHIS Online, I would encourage them to use the telephony system."

Notes to editors: 

1. All media queries should be directed to the DAERA Press Office via pressoffice.group@daera-ni.gov.uk. Out of office hours please contact the duty press officer on 028 9037 8110.

2. Follow DAERA on Twitter @daera_ni and Facebook

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