THE European Commission has confirmed it will be putting forward a proposal for electronic identification (EID) in cattle to replace the current system of ear tagging.
The plans have been discussed for a number of years at at last week’s Paris ‘Salon de l’Agriculture’ the Directorate General for Health and Consumers (DG SANCO) said the plans would be put forward later this year.
It would replace the current plastic tagging system and would see the cattle sector follow its colleagues in sheep in adopting the electronic system.
Bernard Van Goethem, director for the Animal Health and Welfare (DG SANCO), said: “Including bovines in our traceability programme will be a major step in our activities in 2011.
“Traceability helps to ensure the highest possible levels of food safety and hygiene. It is vital in preventing the spread of foot-and-mouth disease, Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), and classical swine fever. In addition, traceability ensures food quality and taste via accurate labelling.”
The Commission said switching to EID would simplify the current procedures and reduce the administrative burden on farmers as well as increasing the competitiveness of the sector by offering a potential farm management tool.
http://www.farmersguardian.com/home/livestock/livestock-news/eu-to-unveil-plans-for-cattle-eid/37616.article
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