Joyce raises farmers’ concerns on electronic tagging for sheep

Welsh Labour spokesperson for Rural Affairs, JOYCE WATSON AM, raised farmers’ concerns about the introduction of electronic identification (EID) for sheep, speaking in a National Assembly debate.

Joyce Watson questioned the Minister for Rural Affairs, ELIN JONES AM, about the likely impact of the new technology on the industry and asked what was being done to address the concerns of the farming community about the costs and robustness of the electronic identification technology.

In December 2007, following pressure from the UK, EU regulation requiring the mandatory electronic identification of sheep was deferred. At the time, the decision to delay the introduction was welcomed by farmers’ unions in Wales but the regulation (Commission regulation 21/2004) will now come into force across all member states from 31 December 2009.

According to a study by Wales’ meat promotion organisation, Hybu Cig Cymru, the likely set-up costs for the electronic tagging system will be around £9.31 per ewe, with additional costs for the ancillary industry.

The Minister assured the Assembly Member for Mid and West Wales that she was working with the industry to prepare for the new requirements, and said that the Assembly Government was overseeing a pilot with twelve sheep farmers in Wales, to demonstrate the costs and benefits of the technology. She said:

“There could be benefits to all concerned from introducing a system like this further down the line, and a key benefit could well be the reduction of form-filling and bureaucracy for farmers, which is something that we would all welcome.

“Some farmers are working electronically—pretty much 100 per cent—and they tell me that this would bring benefits for their business.”

However the Minister said that she was well aware of the uncertainty about EID and said that the Assembly was involved in ongoing negotiations with the European Union and the UK Government to address this. She said:-

“The UK Government position, supported by the Welsh Government, is to seek a review of this regulation. We are currently pressing for such a review, but we do not wish to raise any expectations as it is being resisted by other member states.”

28th April 2008

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