§ Mr. LetwinTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what are the current time limits on the obtaining of cattle passports; and what time limits were originally set. [32034]
§ Mr. RookerUnder current domestic legislation (The Cattle Passport Order 1996) cattle keepers in Great Britain must apply for cattle passports within 28 days of tagging. However, under new EU rules, this timescale will reduce to within 15 days of tagging once the new GB Cattle Tracing System (CTS) is fully operational, which is planned for late summer. EU rules require the deadline to be reduced to 7 days from 1 January 2000.