This article provides a brief history of the animal identification (ID) system that previously existed in Canada along with details on efforts to “reidentify” the country's cattle herd. The current state of ID for various species is summarized, and the state of regulations federally and for major agricultural province are outlined. A short background on the economics of animal ID is provided. Particular attention is paid to the operation of the Canadian Cattle Identification Agency, an industry-government initiative charged with identifying the national cattle herd. The animal ID system in Canada is found to have performed well when called on in times of animal health crises, although there have been notable deficiencies in its performance on occasion. Canada's animal ID system will continue to evolve as new technologies for tagging and database management (among others) are developed. It is expected the system will play an important role in future attempts to exploit traceability for value-added initiatives.

Although Canada has developed an effective animal identification system, and the provinces are progressing toward a system that has full traceback capabilities, the U.S. and Mexico have made little or no progress. Contemporary U.S. proposals for state initiatives will not work. In the meantime, the U.S. livestock industry will continue to lose markets for its products and has little to no basis for complaining about lost sales and the lack of open markets. Also indentified are relevant economic and political principles that both underlie animal identification systems and the failure to make positive steps forward toward establishing a North American animal identification system.