Defra blamed for EID delay

The Livestock Auctioneers Association (LAA) has blamed Defra for the delay in implementation of an acceptable electronic identification (EID) policy for sheep.

The LAA dismissed recent press reports that industry infighting has caused confusion and prevented implementation of EID regulations. It said that Defra was at fault for initially misinterpreting the proposed EC regulation and refusing to consider tagging options proposed by the association last year.

LAA executive secretary Chris Dodds said: “Rather than in-fighting within the industry preventing the implementation of the regulation and causing confusion, as suggested in last weeks farming press, it has been Defra’s delay in accepting our proposal to ensure that farmers can maintain all available movement and marketing options with the minimum of effort and expense, in spite of EID.

“If Defra had accepted our proposals for an electronic slaughter tag, with a visual flock number on the tag and an individual EID number in the chip, when we first made it last year, we would be much further ahead in being able to recommend an industry agreed approach now.”

Dodds added that Defra only reconsidered the proposal after the LAA took its proposals to the European Commission in Brussels on 9th July and won the seal of approval from Kai-Uwe Sprenger, who is responsible for the implementation of the EID Regulation across the EU.

He said that the LAA proposal will greatly reduce many of the foreseen burdens associated with implementation of EID and that it will help all sections of the industry to unite and move forward together when stakeholders’ next meet in September.

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