§ 15. Mr. Wolrige-Gordonasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he is satisfied that placing a tag on the ear of an animal is the most satisfactory record of vaccination; and what plans he has to improve the system.
§ Mr. George MackieI am satisfied that this method of identification is the only practical one for large scale use.
§ Mr. Wolrige-GordonIs the hon. Member aware that this is rather unsatisfactory, in the sense that these tags are often torn off? Would not some alternative system, such as a tattoo mark on the ear, be a better one in the circumstances?
§ Mr. MackieWe know the difficulty about tags coming off, but this is a 1259 special tag which is available only to the Ministry of Agriculture. I am sure that the hon. Member knows the difficulty of reading tattoo marks, especially on dark-coloured animals. I think that on the whole this system is better than tattooing.