European farming unions to unite over sheep EIDs

Farming unions across the EU have joined to lobby against current sheep tagging EID rules.

In a meeting in Brussels, the unions stressed the need to put pressure on the European Commission to review the rules in relation to tolerance, cross compliance and tagging for movements with a holding.

The NFU, Ulster Farmers’ Union and the Irish Farmers’ Association presented their case for reform of the system to their industry counterparts.

Member states, including France, Germany, Sweden and Spain outlined the problems their farmers were facing in achieving an acceptable level of accuracy.

They also shared their concerns over the way the current rules can penalise farmers under cross compliance for failures in technology that can be entirely out of the farmer’s control.

NFU livestock board chairman Charles Sercombe said: "This is a real step forward as we build a broad base of support to convince the European Commission that EID tagging does not do what it set out to achieve. The fact that farmers in other member states are struggling with the same problems as we are reinforces what we have been saying over the past few months."

"It’s clear that we need a workable practical system of traceability and disease control but that the current regulation is not delivering this. It instead gives farmers a set of complex rules and regulations that often fall down because of technology failures that are nothing to do with the farmer."

"Having colleagues across Europe in agreement on this issue sends a strong message to the Commission that the current rules need to be changed."