NORTH Coast Local Land Services will discontinue the retail sale of National Livestock Identification System devices on the North Coast.

Local Land Services will continue to support the NLIS through the management of Property Identification Codes, which North Coast Local Land Services manager of business and finance Grant Lewis said was fundamental to the operation and integrity of the NLIS.

"PICs provide traceability to specific properties because the movement of stock between different PICs is recorded on the NLIS database," he said.

Mr Lewis said Local Land Services have supported the NLIS for some time.

"There are now a wide range of easy methods for livestock producers to obtain tags from produce stores and rural co-operatives," he said.

"There has also been a large increase in the availability from online retailers."

The NLIS is Australia's system for the identification and traceability of cattle, sheep and goats. It was introduced in 1999 to enhance Australia's ability to trace cattle during disease and food incidents, but was expanded to also include sheep and goats in 2009.

For more information, contact the NLIS hotline on 1800 654 743.