2 minute read
Mitigating risk with correct application
Animal handling is a risky business, so eliminating, mitigating and avoiding injury when tagging can be difficult. Particularly at weaning time when both mother and calf don’t want to be separated or when a flighty or stroppy animal needs to be held long enough to place a tag correctly. The Z2 no tear taggerTM performs well beyond its peers to eliminate ear ripping and wounds during tagging. In doing so, it helps mitigate risk of injury to people and animals in the process.
| The Z2 no tear taggerTM mitigates risk of injury to both people and animals. Other applicators require well-timed compression and release before the animal pulls their head away, something that happens even in the best of crushes. If not perfectly in-sync, bruising and ripping is more than likely. The Z2 no tear tagger makes life better for the farmer and stock alike. Firstly, the tool incorporates a snapback arm and a tag pin which automatically flicks out so no matter how stroppy an animal might be, there’s no ear ripping when putting in tags. Andrew Powdrell, of Wairoa-based Turiroa Angus Stud, is testament to that. His family have been breeding pedigree Angus cattle for 76 years and Andrew has been tagging animals for decades.
“I do all the tagging and the Z2 no tear tagger is excellent. You don’t get the ripped ears which were quite common before with other taggers and you don’t get the tags ripping out. With the snapback pin, they are safer to handle too. You can tag from the front or the back, they are easy and quick to load and the tags stay in.” Another feature of the Z2 no tear tagger is its non-compression tag application. No matter how quickly or how hard you pull the handles, no one can over-compress when you squeeze them together. With no compression, injuries such as bruising and wounds are avoided. Animals are calmer and tagging is a safer and faster process all round. For Andrew, presentation counts on the rostrum and the perception of a stroppy animal or ear tears can make a difference in dollars. This year, Turiroa Angus Stud sold New Zealand’s recordpriced bull at $104,000. Andrew says “Over time, we’ve tried most taggers on the market. The Z2 no tear tagger is a really tough, durable and user-friendly tool which are three big things for me. We have had no trouble at all. We’re really pleased. This is by far the best.” The Z2 no tear tagger is ideal for applying NAIT-approved RFID tags, Z2 no tear tags, Button tags and Pedigree tags. The Z2 no tear tagger is highly recommended for tagging cattle, sheep, deer and is suitable for working with older animals. The Z2 tags are designed for high retention in animals so farmers don’t have to spend time replacing tags and updating their animal records in NAIT. Tags are pliable, they bend and flex which prevents ripping and promotes faster healing even if cattle rub them. “We tag all our calves. The Z tags last the animal’s lifetime. They are tough, durable and stay put, which is what we want.”
