The news that Defra is seriously considering introducing individual electronic sheep tagging has been met with horror by the CLA in the North East.
Angus Collingwood-Cameron, CLA North East Director, said: "This proposal would not be good news at the best of times, but further expensive regulation just when the industry has been floored by FMD is heaping cost and worry onto farmers in no position to absorb it. Given the current value of some stock, the estimated cost of around £5 per sheep is out of all proportion and there would be no benefit to the industry or the consumer.
"There is no practical justification for these proposals. Sheep movements are already recorded. Sheep farmers have taken an enormous loss due to the restrictions associated with the recent FMD outbreak and they can neither take any more costs on board nor pass them on to the end users.
"These proposals will be expensive to implement, and expensive to maintain, generating significant additional administrative costs. There is also no guarantee that any central computer system would work as intended. With the full financial cost of FMD yet to be felt and the shadow of Bluetongue hanging over the industry, this could be the straw that breaks the camel's back. Defra must resist this pointless EU regulation."
