Procedure for Assigning Tattoos to Foreign Pigs (sires usually)
CCSI, February 2012

The procedure for assigning tattoos for foreign pigs is maintained by Canadian Livestock Records Corporation (CLRC) on behalf of the Canadian Swine Breeders Association (CSBA). Following is a description of the procedure that CLRC is using, and regional centres and breeders should follow this in order to ensure that foreign animals are uniquely identified with a consistent tattoo in the performance recording programs. If there is any doubt about what tattoo to use for a foreign animal, CLRC should be contacted.

Canadian Livestock Records Corporation
2417 Holly Lane, Ottawa, Ontario CANADA K1V 0M7
Tel: (613)731-7110 / Fax: (613)731-0704
Office Hours: 8:00AM - 4:00PM Eastern Time (Monday to Friday except Holidays)
Laura Lee Mills, Registrar for swine, extension 314
Internet: http://www.clrc.ca Email: lauralee.mills@clrc.ca

Tattoo herd letters
Herd letters are assigned using a 3 character code for the country of birth. The following are codes used for various countries:

Note that if a foreign sire was imported to a different country, and then semen imported from this other country, it is still the country of birth that should be used for the tattoo herd letters. Eg. if a Swedish boar was imported to the United States, then SWE should be used for the herd letters, not USA.

Tattoo number
The numeric part of the tattoo is determined as follows:

• the ear notch or tag number is used if available
• if there is no ear notch or tag number, the last 3 digits of the registration number are used, if a numeric registration number is available. If this results in a tattoo that has already been assigned to another foreign pig from the same country and birth year, up to 2 additional digits will be placed in front. These digits are assigned sequentially starting from 0 (zero)
• if the above does not apply, then CLRC will assign a unique number on an ad hoc basis (contact CLRC in these cases)

Tattoo year letter
The year letter is assigned based on the year of birth, as is done for Canadian pigs.