Originally from: Farmtalking
                        
EU Concessions on Sheep and Goat Identification

http://www.defra.gov.uk/news/2003/031217a.htm

The UK Government has negotiated considerable concessions from the European Commission on the Council Regulation establishing a system for the identification and registration of sheep and goats, which was agreed at the EU Farm Council today (WED).

Among the major concessions won are the removal of the requirement for individual animal recording on paper documents, which was a key concern for the UK's stratified sheep sector, and the provision to allow Member States to retain their national systems provided they comply with Community rules and do not compromise traceability. The industry will be pleased to know that subject to approval by the Commission our current national sheep and goat identification system of movement tags, backed up by the Animal Movement Licensing System (AMLS) will remain until 2008.

Other amendments which will benefit the UK industry are:

No double tagging (subject to European Commission approval)
Lost tags can be replaced with a tag with a new code provided traceability is not compromised provision for extensively reared animals to be identified within nine months instead of six, the extension to the proposed implementation date for mandatory electronic identification of sheep and goats to January 1, 2008. The Government has continued to maintain its position that the Commission should produce a Cost Benefit Analysis when it comes forward with its progress report on implementation issues by June 2006. persuading the Council that 18 months will be required from the date of the regulation's adoption to its implementation. Animal Health Minister Ben Bradshaw welcomed the progress that had been made:

" We fully support the Commission's objective to improve identification and traceability of sheep and goats. The 2001 FMD outbreak clearly demonstrated there were difficulties with tracing movements of sheep and in the UK we have already acted to improve the position. Indeed we already have in place measures which satisfy some of the key elements of the Commission's proposal. I am therefore pleased to see that the European Commission has recognised the UK's stratified sheep industry and allowed us to continue with our own traceability and identification scheme for the time being."

"While we recognise the potential benefits of electronic identification, it has to be affordable to the industry and practical. We will continue to push the European Commission to publish a Cost Benefit Analysis for the use of electronic ID," he said.