UK Sheep Farmers Threaten to “Revolt” over EU Animal ID Requirement

British sheep farmers have reportedly threatened to resist an EU proposal that would require them to implement an electronic animal identification system starting in January 2010. With 30 million sheep in the United Kingdom, many farmers have described the plan as prohibitively expensive and unnecessary. Designed to track livestock movement in the event of an epidemic, the system would rely on ear tags costing between £0.50 and £1.50 each with an additional £5,000 or £6,000 per scanning machine. But farmers have argued that their current method of tracking sheep is adequate and avoids the technological issues associated with Internet and broadband use in remote areas. “When you consider that the average sheep farmer only makes something like £6,000 a year, this could see a significant number of farmers deciding it is just too much,” one farmer was quoted as saying.

The proposal has drawn similar criticisms from farming organizations in Spain, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Sweden, and South West England MEP Neil Parish has called for the sheep identification program to remain voluntary. “This could do to the sheep industry what TB is doing to the cattle industry,” stated a National Farmers’ Union spokesperson. “It’s a crazy rule. It’s not wanted. It’s not needed. And it could, potentially, devastate the sheep industry. We really need political pressure now.” See The Guardian, February 8, 2009.