Australia’s new definition of lamb – what you need to know

04/06/2019

The definition of lamb is changing in Australia – from 1 July 2019.

The current definition of lamb is ‘A female, castrate or entire male that has 0 permanent incisor teeth’.

The new definition is ‘an ovine animal that:

(a) is under 12 months of age; or

(b) does not have any permanent incisor teeth in wear.’

This means a lamb is able to cut one or both of its permanent central incisor teeth, as long as they are not in wear.

Resources

The sheep industry has compiled a range of resources to inform producers and other industry stakeholders about the new definition:

FACT SHEET: Australia’s new definition of lamb – what you need to know

FACT SHEET: Erupted permanent incisor teeth not in wear – the impact on eating quality

VIDEO: Australia’s new definition of lamb – what you need to know