§ Norman LambTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she intends to introduce new regulations in respect of sheep identification and traceability.[54849]
§ Mr. Morley[holding answer 8 May 2002]: The Interim Animal Movements Regime introduced in February 2002 makes provision for the identification and tracing of sheep and goats. We will be reviewing experience with these interim controls in the next couple of months with a view to making any necessary changes in late summer. Later in the year we will also need to consider any recommendations on identification and traceability that emerge from the independent inquiries into the foot and mouth outbreak, and possible proposals from the European Commission on identification of sheep.
§ Norman LambTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to provide financial support for research into electronic means of identification of sheep. [54850]
§ Mr. Morley[holding answer 8 May 2002]: There are no current plans to commission research into electronic means of identifying sheep (EID) in England. However, the European Commission's Joint Research Centre has recently completed a major four-year programme of practical trials of EID in cattle, sheep and goats to test 363W feasibility, including practicality and animal welfare. The UK government is working closely with the EC-Joint Research Centre to learn from this experience.
We are also making practical use of EID technology as part of the NSP.