Terminal 5 problems insignificant compared to Welsh EID concerns

The Farmers' Union of Wales has outlined Welsh sheep farmers' concerns about the planned electronic identification (EID) of their flocks to the European Commission at a meeting with the EC Directorate General for Health and Consumer Protection.

"The recent problems at Heathrow's Terminal 5 could fade into insignificance when compared with the consequences of this legislation for the farming industry," said FUW policy director Nicholas Fenwick.

The meeting, attended by more than 50 industry and Government representatives from around the UK, had been arranged by Defra in response to the long-standing concerns regarding the compulsory introduction of EID after 2009.

"The Commission were told by the FUW in no uncertain terms that their decision to force farmers to introduce EID after 2009 was disgraceful," said Dr Fenwick, who attended the meeting in London.

Dr Fenwick also complained that the new regulations severely undermined respect for the Europe and such bureaucracy smacked of hypocrisy to Welsh farmers, given that we allow imports from non EU countries that do not have such standards.

"In terms of EID, this means that, after 2009, Welsh farmers will be required to use a costly technology that has major flaws, yet our lamb will be displayed side by side with lamb produced in New Zealand - a country where no such costs will be incurred.

"One of the purposes of the Common Market was to help our farmers, yet the Commission's endless appetite for bureaucracy means we are making farming in Europe less and less viable, while giving importers of food produced to lower standards a market advantage."

Under the legislation all animals born after December 31, 2009 must be identified with an electronic form of identification, and the movement of each individual animal must be recorded and reported.

However, the legislation does allow the UK to apply for a derogation that allows animals destined for slaughter before the age of 12 months not to be electronically identified.

"The issue of the slaughter derogation and other areas in which there may be room to manoeuvre were discussed at length," said Dr Fenwick.

Once critical issue is how the legislation applies to sheep born before 2010; the worst case scenario could see farmers having to electronically identify sheep that already have two tags, or to individually record the number of each and every animal they move off the holding by hand, both of which are completely impractical in terms of time and financial costs.

Another key issue is how a technology that the Commission acknowledges is not 100 per cent reliable can be used in livestock markets.

"Without some flexibility, not only will livestock auctions have to install equipment that costs tens of thousands of pounds, but their whole operations could grind to a halt for hours because a single animal has a faulty tag," said Dr Fenwick.

"Out of the forty or so representatives of farmers, auctioneers, and crofters from around the UK there was unanimous concern regarding the possible impact on sheep farming and rural communities, not to mention extreme frustration regarding the failure of the Commission to allow a more proportionate approach to EID legislation.

"The industry is not in a position to afford to pay for technology that may take years to fine tune.

"However, there was also an acceptance that Europe has given us no choice but to make the best of a bad lot, and we must therefore ensure that we fight tooth and nail for any concessions that will help the industry."

Ends

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