Green light for electronic ID
Green light for electronic ID
THE NFU has called on the government to push on with the introduction of an electronic identification system for livestock.
Junior DEFRA minister Elliot Morley has endorsed a recent report from an industry working group which concluded electronic tagging would improve public and animal health protection and reduce red-tape for farmers.
But while the minister said that the UK must iron out technical issues and make sure it takes account of developing EU policy before proceeding, the NFU said DEFRA should set the agenda.
Tim Bennett, NFU deputy president, said: "DEFRA must not wait for Brussels to dictate the best ID system for Britain. We will have particular demands from any electronic ID system and need to be leading the way on this." *