Deafening silence from Scottish Government over EID- Lyon

12.00.00am GMT Wed 23rd Dec 2009

George Lyon, Liberal Democrat MEP for Scotland, has again called on the Scottish Government to clarify how it intends to support farmers and crofters with the introduction of compulsory electronic tagging of sheep now only days away.

Mr Lyon, along with the NFU, has repeatedly called on the Scottish Government to assist farmers with the cost of implementation by funding the central database. This would remove much of the recording and cost burden from farmers.

Commenting, Mr Lyon said:

"I wrote to Richard Lochhead at the beginning of December asking him if the Scottish Government will commit to helping fund the implementation of EID.

"I have still not received a reply to that letter. With only days to go until the regulation comes into effect the industry is still waiting for answers. This is just not good enough.

"The Scottish Government is burying its head in the sand. We may not like it but EID will become reality at the beginning of 2010. The industry needs to have some certainty on who is going to be responsible for the funding of this regulation.

"Other European countries have backed their farmers and used rural development funding to implement EID. Our sheep farmers will be put at a disadvantage if Scotland does not do the same."