[From The Register]
Pilot program for the last judgement?
By Joe Fay
The European Union has pledged to make life easier for both farmers and putative messiahs by ensuring that goats and sheep will in future be identified electronically.
The council of ministers has set December 31, 2009 as “the obligatory implementation date for the introduction of electronic identification (EID) of sheep and goats”.
The system was supposed to be in place this year, but the UK pushed for a two-year delay. Animal Welfare Minister Jeff Rooker said: “We do still have concerns about the cost and practicalities of introducing EID and these are recognised in the Commission’s report. We will continue to work in close partnership with industry to discuss the implementation of EID in a way which is practical and industry can make work.”
Rooker also hinted that old goats, dirty or otherwise, and ageing sheep might be excluded from the scheme altogether, saying: “We will also be seeking further amendments to the Regulation to limit the impact of the introduction of the individual recording requirements which exists for older animals.”
Continue reading EU mandates electronic IDs for sheep and goats at The Register
