AT least 18,000 cattle are without a passport, according to the British Cattle Movement Service (BCMS).

Without a passport they cannot legally be sold or moved between agricultural holdings and therefore have little value.

However, they can apply for a passport if a DNA test can confirm their parentage. At Beef Expo 2010, Pfizer Animal Genetics launched a genetic fingerprint kit to validate cattle parentage for post-27 days of age passport applications.

Heather Bessoff White, director, said the owner needed to contact BCMS, which first confirmed against its database that the animals nominated dam was still alive.

She said: "This being the case, BCMS supplies an application form on which the calf and dam identities are pre-printed. The farmer is required to have a veterinary surgeon take blood or tissue samples from both calf and dam, which are analysed to confirm the calf's parentage. Without this confirmation, a passport cannot be issued."

The parentage test kit developed by Pfizer is available from vets. The farmer or vet submits the calf and dam blood samples, the application form and payment in a postage-paid envelope to Pfizer Animal Genetics. The test fee is £25 plus VAT per sample (not including the vets fee for taking samples).

There is no cost for the kit itself, and test results are sent by Pfizer to the animal owner and vet within two to three weeks.

For more details, call 0845-303-7398, or e-mail pfizeranimalgenetics-EU@pfizer.com.