Scot farmers seek to stop EU sheep tagging

GLASGOW, Scotland, Sept. 27 (UPI) -- Scottish sheep farmers are petitioning to stop a European Union measure that would force them to place electronic tags in all of the country's 7,131,000 sheep.

Organizers said more than 8,000 sheep farmers have signed the petition to halt the EU's Electronic Identification scheme on the grounds that it is not cost effective and would be difficult to implement, The Scotsman reported Friday.

"At a time when livestock, and particularly sheep, are leaving Scotland's hills and uplands in their tens of thousands, EID is one extra cost that can be ill-afforded," said John Scott, a member of the Scottish Parliament who farms 800 sheep. "There's no real benefit to it. We should be looking to reduce unnecessary costs and regulations, given the costs of fertilizer have tripled in the last two years and fuel costs have increased by 60 (percent) to 70 percent in the last year. We can't allow EID to happen."

The mandatory electronic monitoring is scheduled to begin in 2010.