NFUS upbeat over sheep ID amnesty

FOLLOWING a call yesterday by the European Parliament's agriculture committee for an amnesty on any breaches in the electronic identification of sheep, NFU Scotland said they were encouraged by the support from Scottish MEPs on the issue.

Sarah Anderson, of the NFUS, believed such an amnesty would give the industry time to implement the regulation while allowing decision makers more time to develop a system of traceability that was both practical for sheep farmers and acceptable to the EU.

Both George Lyon, and Alyn Smith MEP are members of the committee and were both instrumental in achieving the concession. However, the committee recommendation still has to go through other hurdles in both the commission and the Council of Ministers.

In putting the case, Lyon said that regulations should not unfairly penalise farmers who needed more time to become accustomed to the new technology and give time for a thorough review of the EID legislation.

Smith agreed that the technology was as yet relatively untested. "It is very good news that we have the full parliamentary backing for my stance on a three-year amnesty for all penalties."