Montgomeryshire AM, Russell George, has raised concerns with the Welsh Government that new EU legislation to electronically tag sheep will be not only be bureaucratic but ineffective.
Mr George, who is a Member of the National Assembly’s Environment and Sustainability Committee, questioned the Deputy Minister for Agriculture at a specially convened Committee meeting on Tuesday 19th July at the Royal Welsh Showground, in Llanelwedd.
The AM, who is also the Shadow Minister for the Environment, asked what further discussions the Government has had with European officials about Electronic Identification of Sheep (EID) and whether or not the European Commission would consider a UK opt-out of the regulation.
Commenting Mr George said:
“These regulations are clearly another unnecessary layer of bureaucracy on an industry already overburdened with red tape.
“There are serious question marks not only of the technological element that will be central to administering these regulations but also of the cost implications to farmers.
“I cannot see how it will bring any additional benefits to either food safety or food control.
“While I understand these are regulations that now to be administered in Wales, the Welsh Government needs to take a proactive approach to stem the flow of red tape from the EU, protecting the interests of Welsh farmers at the earliest stages of negotiations.”
