Announcing the changes, Mr Morley said:

"The Plan has got off to a good start but we now need to increase participation further.

"I am pleased at the positive response to the public consultation and I hope that the revised rules will encourage uptake amongst those sheep breeds which could not realistically comply with the original rules.

"The revised Scheme rules will extend the current deadline for selling type 3 rams of certain breeds by two years and breeding from type 3 animals by an additional year. They will enable hill breeds, such as the Scottish Blackface, Welsh Mountain and Swaledale to increase their resistance to TSEs without losing valuable breeding lines.

"Scrapie is an extremely nasty and invariably fatal neurological disease, which I am sure, we would all wish to see eradicated from the national flock. I therefore urge all eligible sheep farmers to take advantage of these changes by joining the NSP to help secure its animal and public health objectives of increasing TSE resistance in order to eventually eliminate TSEs from the national sheep flock".

A list of all recognised breeds and the categories to which they have been allocated can be found below.

Following concerns expressed during the public consultation exercise definitive decisions in respect of all rare breeds of sheep for purposes of the NSP will be deferred until the New Year when results will become available from a survey of rare breeds the Department is undertaking. This survey was commissioned to establish genotype frequencies and distribution levels in rare breeds. As an interim and temporary measure however, all rare breeds will, by default, be placed in the revised NSP category 3A, which permits the continued use and sale of type 3 rams by a further two years over and above existing NSP deadlines.

Since the National Scrapie Plan was launched in July 2001 about 210,000 sheep have been genotyped

Author wrote:
Sorry Mary,
Wrote to Scottish Farmer, yes they published the letter with the 5 points but
carefully edited out all the contact details!!!
Article entitled--Shetland sheep breeders concern over scrapie plan refers to
new legislation this week. On DEFRA web site new pdf dated 11th Nov which I
cant open.
Got letter into local paper--my MP, Russell Brown made unpleasant remarks
about 'hobby farmers' in his contribution to the AHB. My letter was published
under the heading COMMONS REMARKS WERE HURTFUL TO SMALL FARMERS. Lots of
people had seen it when I shopped today--I definitely drew the sympathy
vote--cant wait to see if he responds next week!!
Mona