The umbilical ring of ruminants, natural gate for transponder implant into the preperitoneal space.

The ruminant identification is an important tool aimed to establish safely animal ownership, for animal health monitoring and control, food safety control, and finally for genetic selection. For ruminants the technologies developed during the last years do not allow to ensure that a certain set of basic requirements are met: absence of migration of transponder, fast recovery of transponder in slaughterhouse, possible application in the second part of the meat cutting chain. Therefore, a safe and reliable identification system is needed to ensure live animals and products traceability throughout the food production chain. Implanting of an electronic device into the preperitoneal space by patent of umbilical cord and ring, for performing electronic identification of ruminants may represent a positive answer for the above requirements. This procedure relates to an electronic system for identification and monitoring of small and big ruminant animals, from birth until cutting and utilization of meat cuts. Experiments were carried out in experimental farm conditions of National Research Development Institute for Animal Biology and Nutrition. Our preliminary investigations about methodology, were made with the intent, to explore if is possible to be used, in real farm conditions.