Vol. 539 No. 1
187 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development if, in the aftermath of the new sheep tagging programme, he has satisfied himself that no animals can be moved into the country illegally; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19011/01]
Under the terms of the national sheep identification system it is now illegal for slaughter plants to accept sheep which are not properly identified and tagged. By law the information on the tag must appear on a label attached to the finished carcase. Sheep imported from another EU member state, including from Northern Ireland, going directly to slaughter must retain the tags inserted in their ears in the member state from which they have been imported. Imported sheep going on to a holding must be tagged with red import tags bearing the appropriate flock number and an individual number, in addition to retaining any existing tags. The individual tag numbers are issued centrally by my Department and tags are supplied by commercial operators. In addition, there are strict provisions in place governing the records which must be kept by all flock-owners – these records must show the details of all movements of sheep. Failure to comply with the various requirements of this system will attract penalties provided for in the Diseases of Animals Acts, 1966 to 2001.
