30 and/or female part 40. In another embodiment, the identifiers are not the same, but enable to identify the same animal.

The hollow needle 90 presents a cutting end intended to cut out the sample of the animal tissue and a hollow body intended for keeping the cut sample.

By pressing the male and the female part together, with some part of the animal's (such as the ear) between male and female parts, the cutting end is in contact with the animal and cuts out a sample of the animal tissue. This sample is, in this embodiment, kept inside the hollow body of the needle 90.

When the male part has been inserted into the female part, the sampling member 9, with the sample, can be detached from the male part and inserted into the sampling device 50. The sampling device 50 is thus adapted to cooperate with the sampling member 9.

We now describe the sampling device 50, with reference to FIGS. 2 to 5.

The sampling device 50 comprises:

- a receiving tube 51 designed for receiving the sample of animal tissue and comprising an inlet 510;
- a tube head 52 removably attached to the inlet 510 of the receiving tube and provided with a through channel 520, and
- a closing element 53.

The receiving tube contains at least one specific agent 54. In this embodiment, this at least one specific agent, including one or more of:

- a preserving agent,
- a desiccant,
- a reagent,
- an agent for preparing said sample and
- an agent for preserving said sample.

This agent 54 can be in any form suitable for its purpose, including a gel, a liquid, a powder, beads, or foam. The agent can improve the preservation of the sample or help to prepare it for future analyses in the laboratory.

It is to be noticed that, according to a specific embodiment, the closing element 53 has a density greater than or equal to that of the specific agent 54 contained in the receiving tube 51. In this way, the closing element will not stay at the surface of the agent 54 which could cause trouble during further tests onto the sample, for example by blocking pipetting.

It can be noted that the closing element is preferably made out of a neutral and inert material, i.e. a material that produces no chemical or physical reaction with the specific agent(s) 54, the tissue sample, or any reagents or agents introduced into the sampling device 51 after the storage of the sample.

The closing element 53 advantageously takes the form of a sphere or a cylinder having a circular section to adapt as efficiently as possible to the shape of the tube head 52 which is also adapted to the shape of receiving tube 51. Thus, it preferably has a diameter substantially equal to (or very slightly thicker than) a cylindrical portion of the through channel of the tube head 52.

In this embodiment, the cylindrical portion of the through channel 520 (also called second part of the tube head) has a diameter substantially equal to 4.5 mm.

Thus, the closing element 53 has, in this embodiment, a diameter substantially equal to (or very slightly thicker than) 4.5 mm.

In other embodiments, the cylindrical portion of the through channel (also called second part of the tube head) could have a diameter comprised between 4 mm and 5 mm.

According to the disclosure, the closing element 53 is configured to take at least two positions:

- one first position prior to the insertion of the sampling member 9 into the sampling device 50, which can thus be prior to the fixation of the tag onto the animal or after the fixation of the tag onto the animal but prior to the insertion of the sampling member 9 into the sampling device 50;
- one second position subsequent to the insertion of the sampling member 9 into the sampling device 50.

More particularly, in other terms, the first position is prior to the insertion of the sampling member 9 into the sampling device 50, and the second position is subsequent to the insertion of the sampling member 9 into the sampling device 50.

Referring now to FIG. 3, we describe the first position of the closing element 53 prior to the insertion of the sampling member into the sampling device 50.

In the first position, the closing element 53 is held into the tube head 52 by force-fitting so as to plug the through-channel 520 of the tube head 52.

In this first position, the closing element 53 is held in position in the through-channel 520 of the tube head 52 and closes off its central aperture and consequently the inlet orifice of the receiving tube 51. Thus, the closing element 53 serves as a plug for the tube head 52 and the tight sealing of the receiving tube 51 is ensured.

Referring now to FIG. 5, we describe the second position of the closing element 53 after insertion of the sampling member into the sampling device 50.

In the second position, the closing element 53 is released into said receiving tube 51.

As illustrated in this figure, during the insertion, the sampling member 9 pushes the closing 53 into the receiving tube 51 and gets inserted at least partially into the sampling device 50. The end of the hollow needle 90 of the sampling member 9 (described in reference to FIG. 1), which has a diameter slightly smaller than that of the central aperture of the tube head 52 so as to be capable of getting inserted in the receiving tube 51, then comes into the receiving tube 51, the part including the base 91 taking a position where it abuts the rim of the tube head 52.

The closing element 53 is then released in the receiving tube 51 between the bottom of the receiving tube 51 and the sample E contained in the sampling device 9. In particular, according to at least one embodiment, the closing element 53 has a density greater than that of the agent 54, and sinks to the bottom of the receiving tube 51 when this tube is immobile. The closing element 53, in its second position, can then fulfill the function of a stirrer or mixer. Furthermore, the closing element can serve as a visual indicator to indicate that a collecting/storage has been done, especially if it has a bright color.