Fake cow registrations in the Netherlands

Signs of fraud in the registering of dairy cows were found at 2,100 cattle farms, Minister Carola Schouten of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality announced in a letter to the Tweede Kamer on Thursday. These farms are blocked, which means that no animals can be transported or removed, while further investigation is done, the Minister said.

In the Netherlands each dairy cow must be registered on the Identification and Registration (I&R) system as a livestock unit. A heifer, which hasn’t birthed a calf yet and therefore hasn’t started producing milk, counts as half a livestock unit. (Gönczi Krisztina, agrarszektor.hu)