CLA’s cautious welcome for sheep tagging announcement

The CLA has welcomed a decision by Defra which will allow farmers who move sheep to temporary grazing or rented land to record movements using the existing batch system, rather than the new electronic tagging regime, but continues to insist that the whole concept is an unnecessary cost that provides no benefit.

CLA North East Committee member Annabelle Morshead, who farms at Haydon Bridge, said: "At last, common sense prevails. Perhaps with this, as well as the recent slaughter derogation we will have a workable, if still unnecessary system."

Simon Riddell, Chief Executive of leading tag manufacturer Ritchey, agreed. He said: "Any pragmatic interpretation that leads to a reasonable application of the rules is very, very welcome. However, our longstanding argument that the whole concept of electronic tagging is unnecessary and expensive has been vindicated by the results of tests in Scotland, which would seem to prove that the system as proposed does not provide any benefits, yet places a huge financial burden on the industry."

The CLA added that the Scottish Government study also underlined the rural/urban digital divide, as 20% of the farmers involved could not access a broadband connection and were unable to relay tag information electronically.