§ Bob SpinkTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the(a) usefulness and (b) costs of sheep tagging; and if she will make a statement. [163571]
§ Alun MichaelEartags are an important means of identification for sheep. They allow the holding on which an animal was born and where it has moved from to be identified. This is important when dealing with the tracing and control of animal disease.
The Department produced a Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) to look at the costs involved with implementing EU proposals on sheep and goat identification which was lodged in the House Library. EU Regulation 21/2004 was adopted in December and the Department will be producing a further RIA on the new EU requirements before they are implemented in July 2005.