§ Mr. LivseyTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans his Department has to replace the current large MAFF-specified cattle ear tags with more durable, smaller, stronger tags containing a microchip. [97691]
§ Ms Quin[holding answer 9 November 1999]: The specifications for the large distance readable cattle ear tags are laid down in EU legislation and there are no proposals to amend these requirements. We are aware that there is concern over the loss rates of plastic cattle ear tags experienced by some farmers and we are currently investigating the reasons for this.
A European Union funded programme of trials into the various forms of electronic identification for cattle and other livestock is currently underway. After these trials have been completed the European Commission is expected to propose an EU wide standard. In the meantime, farmers can voluntarily use electronic identification but this does not replace the requirement for the large distance readable tag.