Sheep tagging concerns outlined at European Parliament

NFU Livestock Board Chairman, Alistair Mackintosh, has outlined the concerns of farmers in Wales and England over EU sheep tagging rules to an audience of MEPs and EU farm representatives.

Mr Mackintosh addressed a meeting of European industry representatives at the European Parliament on Monday, where it was highlighted that the introduction of compulsory electronic sheep tagging could mean a serious reduction in sheep numbers in the UK and throughout EU member states.

Mr Mackintosh said, "We have made a clear case to the Commission that the arguments for introducing this burdensome and costly regulation are completely unjustified. Industry representatives from Holland and Germany in particular have come out strongly in favour of the UK position."

Industry representatives will be sending collective letters to all member state governments as a follow up to the action that has already been taken against the introduction of electronic sheep tagging and individual movement traceability.

This meeting follows on from a long running campaign by the NFU and NFU Cymru in Brussels to seek changes to the regulation. Last Month NFU Cymru Vice President, Edmund Bailey, gave evidence to the European Parliament Agriculture Committee on this matter.