Vol. 503 No. 7
33 Mr. McDowell asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the status of the proposals to introduce a sheep tagging programme whereby lambs would be tagged at or just after birth; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11033/99]
Proposals for the introduction of a system of tagging of sheep have been presented by my Department to the various representative bodies by my Department and consultations are now ongoing. Under EU legislation, member states are required to have effective sheep identification systems in place. In addition, market developments in the sheepmeat sector such as greater consumer demands for traceability and the introduction of tagging schemes in some other member states have added impetus to this issue. The tagging of sheep will also facilitate the introduction of improved controls from the animal health point of view.
