LITS — the open standard for national livestock identification and traceability
LITS is open and vendor-neutral — owned by the State, integrated by industry, verifiable by anyone. Each nation runs its own registry on its own domain — named for the country it serves, for example ZLITS or MLITS — and the herd stays traceable across borders.
What a nation gets
One source of truth
One national ID per animal for life. Identity, movement permits and health events on a single authoritative record — no duplicates, no competing databases.
Vendor-neutral
An open API any vendor can build against on equal terms. The State owns the data and the mandate; no company is locked in, and none is privileged.
Verifiable by anyone
Every certificate carries a QR that resolves to the sovereign domain. A buyer, abattoir or border officer confirms it — free, with no login.
Why it matters
A credible national traceability system is funded to solve three problems.
- Stock theft. Without one authoritative identity per animal, stolen stock is laundered through retagging and informal sales. One national ID for life — with an audit trail — closes the gap.
- Disease and FMD control. Outbreaks demand instant movement control by veterinary zone. Real-time permits and zone enforcement contain disease before it reaches the next district.
- Export-market access. EU and regional buyers require end-to-end traceability. An auditable chain of custody keeps a nation's beef in premium markets.
A proven model, adapted for Africa
National livestock registries are not experimental. The same pattern — one lifetime ID, permitted movement, an authoritative state-held record — already runs at national scale around the world. LITS brings it to each African nation as sovereign, open infrastructure.
NLIS — Australia
The National Livestock Identification System: lifetime electronic ID and a central movement database underpinning Australia's beef exports.
NAIT — New Zealand
National Animal Identification & Tracing: every bovine tagged and traceable, built for rapid disease response.
TRACES — EU
The EU's online certification and movement-control platform — the system an exporting nation's certificates must speak to.
Explore LITS
What LITS is, the open API contract, conformance and governance.
How it worksCapture once, move with a permit, certify and verify — the two-plane model.
Who it's forGovernments, integrators and vendors, and farmers without a vendor.
SovereigntyEach nation's registry on its own domain, with residency and exit you choose.
Verify a certificateThe public trust anchor — how anyone confirms a certificate, free.
Request a briefingFor veterinary authorities and vendors evaluating the platform.
Guides & insights
Practical, role-by-role guidance and analysis from building national registries.
A national registry is adopted, not switched on. The sequence most countries follow — from a first conversation to a mandatory, nationwide system — and what each stage actually involves.
InsightWhy one ID for life beats a database per vendorWhen every app keeps its own animal database, the same beast exists three times and stolen stock has somewhere to hide. A single national identity closes the gap.
InsightWhat Africa can learn from NLIS, NAIT and TRACESNational livestock traceability is not experimental. Three mature systems show what works — lifetime ID, real movement control, and verification at the border — and what to avoid.