Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
 Printable version
|
 E-mail this to a friend
|
Newly negotiated sheep EID rules come into force
Farmers in England will not have to tag sheep intended for slaughter before they are 12 months old when the new EU Electronic Identification (EID) rules come into force on 31 December this year, Farming Minister Jane Kennedy announced today.
Ms Kennedy said:
"We have been pressing hard in Europe for changes that will help to reduce the burden on the sheep and goat farming industry. While we believe that the costs of the new rules still outweigh the benefits, we need to avoid the even higher costs of not complying with EU law and we're working hard to ensure that the burden on farmers is as low as possible.
"The exemption from having to record animals that are intended for slaughter before they are a year old could save the industry between £8 million and £11 million per year - and we will continue to work with farmers to ensure that the costs of implementing the new system are as low as possible."
The Government has already secured a number of other changes to the EID regulations which will considerably reduce the burden on farmers, including:
* no animals have to be recorded individually on a movement document until 1 January 2011
* no animals born before 31 January 2009 have to be recorded individually on a movement document until 31 December 2011
* no animals born before 31 December 2009 and moving to slaughter (directly or via a market) have to be recorded individually on a movement document at all.
The Regulation that requires EID was adopted by the EU in 2003, and provided for EID to be introduced from 1 January 2008. A further two-year delay, until 31 December 2009, was secured in 2007.
Notes for Editors
1. EID is an EU requirement which introduces individual traceability of sheep to enable more effective control in the event of an outbreak. More information on the implementation is available at: http://www.defra.gov.uk/farm/livestock.
2. The Regulation provides for the mandatory introduction of electronic identification of sheep from 31 December 2009, including an optional derogation from the need to electronically identify sheep which live less than the age of 12 months. This derogation allows the use of a single conventional ear-tag instead of electronic identification. Defra plans to consult on implementation of the new rules and the use of the slaughter derogation in the spring.
3. To help implementation, Defra has reconvened the EID Co-ordination Group in England. The first meeting was held on 24 June 2008. This group consists of industry representatives and includes independent farmers who were involved in the EID trials.
Public enquiries 08459 335577;
Press notices are available on our website http://www.defra.gov.uk
Defra's aim is sustainable development
To subscribe or unsubscribe to Defra's mailing list go to: http://nds.coi.gov.uk
Once on the NDS website see Sign up
Nobel House
17 Smith Square
London SW1P 3JR
Website
http://www.defra.gov.uk
