Slaughter tag concessions won in sheep EID battle

Following months of disagreement, industry stakeholders hammered out an agreement with Defra to form the basis of the final regulation.

The proposals, which would see farmers given a choice of an electronic or manual tag for sheep moving direct to slaughter, will now be put before Ministers to be signed off.

Debate had raged over the issue after auctioneers warned market prices could plummet if sheep were not tagged electronically as these would potentially be less attractive to buyers.

They said markets would also be faced with a major headache if they were forced to read batches of sheep eartags manually.

However, following discussions, industry stakeholders have now agreed to proposals which would see farmers offered a voluntary electronic tagging option.

Peter Morris, chief executive of the National Sheep Association said the talks had been ‘constructive’ and, while he still opposed the principle of the regulation, he said it was vital concessions were made to make compliance easier for farmers.

Step forward

Chris Dodds, executive secretary of the Livestock Auctioneers Association, which had initially called for the compulsory route, said the agreement was a step forward for the industry.

He said: “I am pleased all of the industry has agreed a way forward on this. We felt the electronic slaughter tag we proposed has wide-ranging benefits for the whole industry and this has now been accepted by the industry and by Defra.”

The agreement will also be seen as a victory for the NFU which has long argued farmers should be given a range of options to comply with the rules.

Alistair Mackintosh, NFU livestock board chairman said: “As far as we are concerned, industry had to have all options available to them and the farmer has to be able to choose what system he uses.

“We have now got to move forward from this and I would urge Ministers to keep the regulations under review once it comes into force in 2010.

“There are going to be teething problems with this and that is not the farmers’ fault. We have to make sure if we do come up against any major problems we are able to go back and look at it again.”

Further details of the regulations need to be worked out with Defra, including details on recording movements between units within the same business.

With agreement reached on the major flashpoint in the industry it is hoped regulations will be fast-tracked through

Defra to give the industry time to prepare ahead of implementation in January next year.

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