Moore Welcomes EU Concessions on Sheep ID Rules (Central Scotland Liberal Democrats)

Central Scotland Liberal Democrats <ian.ogilvie.libdems@talktalk.net>

Moore Welcomes EU Concessions on Sheep ID Rules

July 16, 2009 11:46 AM
Originally published by Scottish Liberal Democrats

MP Michael Moore has welcomed the amendments made by the European Union to their controversial proposals on electronic sheep tagging earlier this week.

Mr Moore had criticized the original plans as costly and unworkable, and shared the doubts of the National Farmers Union of Scotland and other campaigners over the ability of these proposals to achieve the health and biosecurity objectives that they were designed to meet.

Mr Moore has worked closely with representatives of the Scottish farming industry on this issue, and has pressed DEFRA Ministers to support NFUS calls for a compromise solution on sheep tagging from the floor of the House of Commons. He has also raised the concerns of Borders hill farmers directly with EU agricultural officials at meetings in Brussels.

On Tuesday, the EU Standing Committee for Food and Animal Health offered campaigners a number of concessions on issues such as tagging procedures and annual inventories.

Commenting, Mr Moore said:

"I am pleased that the European Commission has seen fit to reconsider its position on the issue of electronic sheep tagging. Had the original proposals been implemented without amendment, the economic pressure of conforming to the new legislation would have forced many Borders hill farmers to give up their flocks.

"Although I welcome the flexibility that officials have shown on this matter, there are a number of issues of concern that remain outstanding. It is clear that further concessions will be required if the long-term future of the industry in the Borders is to be secured.

"I will be meeting with senior NFUS officials in the near future to discuss this issue before heading to Brussels again to lobby for further concessions."