The invention pertains to a system for identifying an animal comprising a malepart (30),cooperating with at least one cutting element intended to cut out a sample ofanimal tissue, afemale part (40) with open head having a through-channel, and a detachabledevice (50) forstoring said sample, intended to be fixed to one end of said through-channel.According to the invention, the system also comprises means for closing saidhead thatcan take at least two positions, comprising an open position enabling thepassage of said samplethrough the through-channel during a collecting operation, and an irreversibleclosed position bywhich the channel is closed in the vicinity of said one end (422) subsequentlyto the collectingoperation.
