Europe’s top court has ruled a controversial sheep identification system which has incurred the wrath of farmers is legal.
The regime forces sheep and lambs in a significant number of countries to be individually identified and was imposed in the wake of the BSE and foot-and-mouth outbreaks to assist with traceability in any future disease incident.
Scotland demands farmers use electronic identification (EID) tags in the ears of sheep.
The judgment has been greeted with disappointment.
German sheep farmer Herbert Schaible, who has 450 ewes, brought the original case before the Stuggart Administrative Court. He had asked it to rule he was not obliged to individually and electronically identify the sheep in his flock, nor keep a holding register. The court, however, passed the case to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for a decision.
An ECJ statement said: “The court finds that the obligations of keepers of sheep and goats to identify their animals individually and electronically and to keep an up-to-date holding register does not infringe the freedom to conduct a business or the principle of equal treatment.
“Although these obligations may limit the exercise of the freedom to conduct a business, they are, however, legitimate objectives in the public interest, namely health protection, the control of epizootic diseases, the welfare of animals and the completion of the internal market for those animals.”
The court said the obligations imposed were not disproportionate. Nor were they a financial burden given the consequences of a disease outbreak which could result in an export ban or prevent the slaughter of sheep. It also said that by promoting the control of epizootic diseases and helping avoid animals suffering, the EID regime “contributed positively” to the protection of animal welfare.
The regime also complied with the principle of equal treatment, even though some states with small sheep and goat populations have an exemption from it.
NFU Scotland vice-president Rob Livesey said the fact remained that the requirements surrounding EID and the movement recording of sheep were disproportionate and flawed.
He said a promised review of the system had to secure sensible and pragmatic changes to current tagging and recording requirements.
Mr Livesey added: “The court’s opinion only adds weight to calls that a review of the existing European regulation is badly needed. That review would be an opportunity to drive some commonsense into the regulation while stripping out existing requirements that add nothing to the traceability of animals.
“We will continue to stand together with sheep farmers across Europe against the unworkable sheep EID legislation and we must take every opportunity to try to make sheep farmers’ lives easier.”
Mr Livesey repeated the union’s longstanding demand for animals born within any farm business to receive a single flock tag and only to be double tagged with an electronic identifier when they leave the holding of birth.