Article 5U.K.
1.Member States shall ensure that the following general principles are respected:
(a)identification marks must be applied before animals leave the holding of birth;
(b)no mark may be removed or replaced without the permission of the competent authority.
Where a mark has become illegible or has been lost, a new mark shall be applied in accordance with this Article;
(c)the keeper shall record any new mark in the register referred to in Article 4 in order to establish a link with the previous mark applied to the animal.
2.Animals must be marked as soon as possible, and in any case before they leave the holding, with an eartag or tattoo making it possible to determine the holding from which they came and enabling reference to be made to any accompanying document which must mention such eartag or tattoo and to the list referred to in Article 3(1)(a).
Member States may, by derogation from the second subparagraph of Article 3(1)(c) of Directive 90/425/EEC, apply their national systems for all movements of animals in their territories. Such systems must enable the holding from which they came and the holding on which they were born to be identified. Member States shall notify the Commission of the systems which they intend to introduce for this purpose. In accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 18 of Directive 90/425/EEC, a Member State may be asked to make amendments to its system where it does not fulfil that requirement.
Animals bearing a temporary mark identifying a consignment must be accompanied throughout their movement by a document which enables the origin, ownership, place of departure and destination to be determined.