Local Lib Dem MEP's call on sheep tagging fails

10.22.30am GMT Fri 12th Dec 2008

The local Liberal Democrat Euro MP's attempt to call on the European Commission to make Electronic Identification Devices (EID) on sheep voluntary and not mandatory has failed.

Diana Wallis MEP signed the Written Declaration in the European Parliament calling on the European Commission to make Electronic Identification Devices (EID) voluntary and not mandatory, but the Declaration failed to gather enough signatures in the Parliament by the cut-off date.

Diana Wallis MEP said:

"The policy of EID for sheep has not been thought through properly and could ruin the financial viability of the industry for many of those currently involved and I was hoping that the EU would look at this again."

"The huge financial costs of introducing and operating this scheme, which DEFRA reports suggest could reduce net sheep farm income in the UK by 15% in 2010, means the whole scheme becomes unacceptable on a number of fronts."

However, less than 100 of the Parliament's 785 MEPs signed the declaration. For it to progress at least half of the MEPs must have signed. All 11 Liberal Democrat MEPs signed the Written Declaration.

Diana Wallis added:

"The response from my colleagues in the European Parliament has been disappointing although understandable given the relative unimportance of the sheep rearing industry elsewhere in the EU. It is up to Hilary Benn to argue the UK's case in the Ministerial meeting in order to introduce voluntary Electronic Identification Devices."

NOTES:

Written Declaration 0068/2008 can be found at: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/activities/plenary/writtenDecl/wdFastOngoing.do?language=EN&startValue=30#