Don't blame industry for EID delays

Don’t blame industry for EID delays, says LAA Delays in the implementation of an acceptable EID policy for the UK sheep industry follow Defra’s initial misinterpretation of the proposed EC regulation and its refusal to consider tagging options first proposed by the Livestock Auctioneers Association (LAA) last year.

"Far from an alleged industry split on EID plans, the LAA’s proposal has now been accepted as a workable solution by the EC, Defra and most industry representative bodies within the UK," says the association’s executive secretary Chris Dodds.

"If Defra had accepted our proposals for an electronic slaughter tag, with a visual flock number on the tag and an individual EID number in the chip, when we first made it last year, we would be much further ahead in being able to recommend an industry agreed approach now," said Mr Dodds.

"Mr Dodds believes that the LAA’s proposal will greatly reduce many of the foreseen burdens associated with implementation of EID and that it will help all sections of the industry to unite and move forward together when stakeholders’

next meet in September."

But, it was only after the LAA took its proposals to the European Commission in Brussels on 9th July, where they won the seal of approval from Kai-Uwe Sprenger who is responsible for the implementation of the EID Regulation across the EU, that Defra was able to look at it again.

"Rather than in-fighting within the industry preventing the implementation of the regulation and causing confusion, as suggested in last weeks farming press, it has been Defra’s delay in accepting our proposal to ensure that farmers can maintain all available movement and marketing options with the minimum of effort and expense, in spite of EID," said Mr Dodds.