Friday, 22nd January 2010
Scots Tory MEP expresses disappointment at rejection of EID derogation in Shetland
Scots Tory MEP, Struan Stevenson, has expressed bitter disappointment that the European Commission has rejected his call for a derogation from electronic identification for sheep in Shetland.
In its response, the Commission said:
“Current rules do not empower the Commission to grant derogations from the basic provisions of the Regulation.”
In December, Mr Stevenson tabled an oral question to the European Commission requesting that sheep on Shetland are spared from electronic tagging, raising concerns about the future of the Island’s struggling sheep farmers and pointing out that Shetland has a unique bio-security system in place where all livestock moving onto the island are health-checked and blood-tested.
This decision will come as a bitter blow for sheep farmers in Shetland who must now electronically identify all animals born after 31 December 2009.
The European Commission agreed that readers can be sited at abattoirs and markets, so that all farmers do not need to purchase such equipment. However, for upland sheep farmers who move their flocks to lowland farms during the winter, readers will be required.
Struan Stevenson said:
“This is extremely disappointing and shows that the European Commission does not fully understand the impact of such regulations in remote parts of Scotland, nor do they give any credence to the unique bio-security system that is already in place in Shetland. The result is that many Shetland farmers could be forced out of business as a consequence of the impending costs of adhering to these regulations.
"However, this decision was not surprising. The European Commission has been unwilling to listen to continued pleas to reconsider these costly ear tags. Now that they are compulsory, I implore the EU to monitor their effects and their benefits closely.”
