Vol. 433 No. 1
21 Mr. Lowry asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry if the scrapie monitored flocks scheme can be operated on the basis of whole flock identification rather than individual sheep identification; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
24 Mr. E. Kenny asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry if the scrapie monitored flocks scheme can be operated on the basis of whole flock identification rather than individual sheep identification; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
73 Mr. McCormack asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry if the scrapie monitored flocks scheme can be operated on the basis of whole flock identification rather than individual sheep identification; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 21, 24 and 73 together.
The scrapie monitored flocks scheme launched by my Department in April last requires individual animal identification. This requirement is acceptable to pedigree sheep breeders. It is an important requirement in the context of the eradication of the disease as it enables the antecedents and progency of diseased animals to be traced and eliminated.
However, my Department is reviewing the implications of this requirement for non-pedigree breeding sheep.
In the last words of his reply the Minister anticipated my supplementary question. It is all very fine to talk about a scheme acceptable to pedigree sheep breeders who comprise a very small minority, whereas many other people involved in commercial sheep breeding are not in a position to operate the scheme, as the Minister has admitted. Will the Minister move quickly to find a resolution of this problem? Flock identification would offer exactly the same kind of guarantees the Minister appears to be seeking from pedigree sheep breeders in regard to animal identification in that, if a flock is free then, by definition, all the animals must be free? When does the Minister expect to resolve that problem so that we can proceed?
A large number of non-pedigree breeding animals are traded with Northern Ireland. We have deferred implementation cross-Border for some months so that we could arrive at a solution which would meet the legitimate concerns of breeders in non-pedigree areas. We are taking this matter seriously and endeavouring to find a resolution as quickly as possible.
