DEPARTMENT FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS News Release (73/09) issued by COI News Distribution Service on 31 March 2009

Views are being sought from farmers and other interested parties on how the new EU rules on the electronic identification of sheep and goats can best be implemented in England through a consultation launched today.

Electronic identification (EID) is an EU requirement to enable the individual traceability of sheep and goats and more effective control in the event of a disease outbreak.

The UK has been pressing hard in Europe for changes that will help to reduce the burden of EID and individual recording on the sheep and goat farming industry.

The rest of this article can be seen at www.wired-gov.net/wg/wg-news-1.nsf/lfi/172411

For more information on sheep tagging, visit the Defra website www.defra.gov.uk/farm/livestock/