§ Mr. SwayneTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make representations to the European Commission regarding new cattle tagging requirements to be implemented on 1 January 2000 in respect of the particular difficulty that these will present to commoners in the New Forest. [73009]
§ Mr. RookerCattle need to be tagged early in their lives so they can be traced and it is in the farming industry's interest to ensure this happens. Currently cattle eartags must be applied within 30 days of the birth of an animal. For dairy animals, one of the eartags required must be applied within 36 hours.
725WThe 30 day deadline will reduce to 20 days on 1 January 2000. If there are major practical difficulties with this next year, we will look at bringing these to the attention of the European Commission.