No flatulence tax on UK cows

The UK government must avoid the temptation of a flatulence tax on cows and other farm livestock, according to a Tory Euro MP. Struan Stevenson says that moves by Ireland and Denmark to introduce such a tax must not be mirrored here as it would devastate farming and drive the beef and dairy industries overseas.

Speaking from the European Parliament in Brussels, Struan Stevenson said:

"According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), livestock are responsible for around 18% of greenhouse gases worldwide. A cow can emit up to 4 tonnes of methane a year in burps and flatulence, compared to 2.7 tonnes of CO2 for an average car. This has led environmental fundamentalists in Ireland and Denmark to demand a flatulence tax on farm livestock as a means of combating global warming and avoiding stiff penalties from the European Commission under the EU’s Emissions Trading Scheme. The Irish government is said to be considering a levy of £12 per cow, while the Danish government is considering a staggering £75 per cow tax.

"Any thought of introducing a flatulence tax on cows or other farm livestock would be a catastrophic mistake. Farmers are struggling in the current recession like everyone else. Green taxes like those proposed in Ireland and Denmark would kill off our dairy and beef industries and hand a gift to our direct competitors in Latin America and other countries outside the EU. At a time when less and less British food is being sold in our supermarkets, this would be the final straw."