§ Sir Geoffrey Johnson SmithTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what use he will make of electronic tagging in introducing a scheme to ensure traceability of beef cattle. [20150]
§ Mr. RookerIt will not be a requirement of the computerised Cattle Tracing System for cattle to have electronic eartags. However, the Cattle Tracing System will take account of the fact that increasing numbers of cattle are likely to have them in the future, which the Government view as a welcome development.
§ Sir Geoffrey Johnson SmithTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of button plastic tag secondary eartags in ensuring cattle traceability. [20149]
§ Mr. RookerThe plastic button eartag is on the current list of UK approved eartags for use in cattle identification. We are looking at all the approved eartags to see which ones conform to new EU legislation effective from 1 January 1998. A list of approved eartags will be made widely available as soon as possible.