Moore calls for amnesty on sheep tagging penalties (Aberdeen North Liberal Democrats)

Aberdeen North Liberal Democrats <anne.carmichael@btinternet.com>

Moore calls for amnesty on sheep tagging penalties

March 25, 2010 3:23 PM
Originally published by Scottish Liberal Democrats

Borders MP Michael Moore has tabled a Parliamentary motion which urges the Government to work to secure an amnesty on penalties for UK farmers who breach controversial new rules on the electronic identification (EID) of sheep.

Mr Moore's motion follows recent calls from the EU Agriculture Committee for "an amnesty of three years on cross-compliance penalties relating to electronic identification of sheep and goats". The committee have argued that farmers need more time to become accustomed to the new technology and urged the EU Commission to conduct a thorough review of the EID legislation.

Liberal Democrat MSP Liam McArthur this week tabled a similar motion at the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh.

Mr Moore has worked closely with representatives of the Scottish farming industry on this issue in the past, and last year pressed DEFRA Ministers to support NFUS calls for a compromise solution on sheep tagging from the floor of the House of Commons. He has also raised the concerns of Borders hill farmers directly with EU agricultural officials during meetings in Brussels

Commenting, Mr Moore said:

'Farmers groups from all over Europe warned that the complexity of the new EID rules would make it difficult for producers to avoid stiff cross-compliance penalties before they were introduced.

'A three year amnesty would offer Borders hill farmers time to make the significant changes in their businesses that the new legislation demands without facing the prospect of substantial fines.

'After another year in which many farmers have found it difficult to make ends meet, there is a clear need for officials to listen to producers and exercise a bit of common sense. It is essential that there is flexibility in the application of the new law until a full review of the changes is complete.'

Notes:

The full text of Mr Moore's EDM is as follows:

ELECTRONIC IDENTIFICATION OF SHEEP AND GOATS

24.03.2010

Moore, Michael

That this House welcomes the call made by the European Parliament's Agricultural Committee for an amnesty of three years on cross-compliance penalties relating to electronic identification of sheep and goats; notes that the committee made this call because this is a new and complex technology which will require some time for farmers to become accustomed to and for the systems to be road-tested; believes that such an amnesty would remove the current threat of high fines which Scottish farmers and crofters face as they struggle to cope with technology which has been shown to be far from perfect; and calls on the Government to seek the agreement of the European Commission for the early introduction of such an amnesty in the UK.