Getting bogged down on re-tagging of sheep

Q&AJames Murphy

Since 2009, Ireland has been exempted from the EU’s electronic identification (EID) for sheep under one year and intended for slaughter in Ireland, allowing them go to the mart or factory with one tag in the left ear, as before.

Now, rules are being tightened, with all sheep born since 2009 required to retain one identity for life, recorded accurately on movement documentation.

Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney suggests that farmers will benefit by electronically tagging lambs at the holding of origin — they can be scanned instead of manually recording tag numbers, and require no further tagging, whether purchased by slaughterhouses, fatteners, exporters, or if they are retained for breeding.

The re-tagging ban which came into effect last Friday will affect about 25% of animals going for slaughter.

Farmers have to manually record the entire 12-digit tag number of each lamb that is not electronically tagged.

Alternatively, store lamb sellers can move to the more expensive EID.

IFA national sheep committee chairman James Murphy discusses tag issues.

* To non-sheep farmers, the sheep tag regulations are complicated. Are they clear enough to sheep farmers?

>>The regulations are extremely complex, and made more so by the latest change. They have not been properly explained to farmers. The minister and the department need to hold meetings with farmers to explain details.

* Describe the requirements up to this week and how farmers coped with them.

>>Farmers have found the arrangements difficult, but were beginning to cope. The new changes only add to the confusion.

Currently, farmers who sell lambs directly to factories can do so with a simple factory tag, and can record the number sequences on the movement docket. Farmers who sell in the mart have to use a more expensive mart/permanent tag. Sheep born after Jan 1, 2010, and retained on the farm for breeding, must be tagged with an EID set of two tags, one conventional and one electronic.

* What is the major change now?

>>The major change involves the move to one tag for life, and the end of re-tagging. This will hit the mart trade, store sellers and finishers. The minister proposes farmers use EID tags at the holding of origin to overcome these problems. This is optional. EID tags are costly and the technology is far from 100% accurate.

* Do farmers agree that sheep should have one ID for life — except where tags are lost, or upgraded to EID when lambs are retained for breeding, or exported live. If they agree, what is the best system for it? Calf tagging works reasonably well for 100,000 farms or so which have cattle. Would something similar work for sheep?

>>The move to one ID for life has complicated the system no end. It is not necessary. Despite some difficulties, Ireland has had a good sheep tagging and ID system for the last number of years.

The goal of one ID for life has also led to double tagging, significantly increasing the animal welfare problem.

Cattle and sheep tagging are not comparable. Sheep are farmed and traded in batches and flocks, not as individuals like cattle. If there is an animal health problem with sheep, the entire flock is restricted, not individual sheep. In addition, a sheep ear is very different to a bovine ear — much more susceptible to difficulty following interference.

* What are the animal welfare and cost concerns?

>>There are numerous cases of severe animal welfare problems with sheep tags, particularly with EID tags. IFA has shown these problems directly to the Department of Agriculture and the EU Commission, both of whom admitted their concern. Action must be taken to address this issue.

EID tags are extremely expensive at about €1.30 for a set. Despite a claim by manufacturers and the EU Commission that prices would come down with greater use, this has not happened. On a livestock unit basis, sheep tags are about five times more expensive than cattle tags. With a lamb worth €90 to €100 and a beef animal worth €1,500, the low income sheep sector is paying way too high a price for identification.

The minister must act to reduce costs to the sector. A single electronic tag at about 40c would be a help, particularly as an option for store/finisher lambs.

* Some 1.7 million EID tag sets have been purchased by Irish farmers. Does this indicate satisfaction with EID?

>>It indicates farmers do not fully understand the requirements, and are being sold the more expensive tags by manufacturers, even though they are not required. EID tags are of little benefit to farmers, because the vast majority of farmers, marts or factories have no equipment to read them.

* Is there a high rate of cross compliance penalties for failure to keep accurate and complete sheep ID records?

>>Because of the complexity of the system, there is a relatively high rate of penalties under sheep tagging and ID. The inspection system is not fair, as the tolerances are totally inadequate to deal with the level of tag fall-out and losses, and penalties for unintentional errors are excessive. In 2010, about 9% of farmers inspected were penalised under sheep ID. In general, penalties range from 1% to 5%, with about 1% of farmers penalised receiving penalties over 5%.

* Northern Ireland applied full EID, including older animals when leaving the holding. How has it worked?

>>There have been a lot of problems with technology and penalties in the North. I visited a mart and factory in the North, and while I was there the mart sale had to be stopped because the technology broke down.

The factory also had significant problems due to reader failure and tag incompatibility. The North moved to full EID because they did not have an adequate conventional system, and faced major EU fines. The vast majority of Northern lambs are purchased by southern factories and imported as live exports, and they must have EID tags under the regulation. Northern Ireland is part of a large group lobbying for EU changes to EID regulations.