Posted on 02/11/2009 8:35:23 AM PST by BGHater
Britain's sheep farmers are on the brink of revolt over European commission proposals ordering them to electronically tag and identify every single animal in the 30 million-strong national flock. They claim the move will devastate the industry and could force farmers on to the streets in protest if Brussels insists on imposing regulations they claim are "crazy" and "unnecessary".
The regulations, to be introduced in January next year, mean each sheep must be fitted with an electronic ear tag. The move is designed to track all individual sheep in the wake of the foot and mouth epidemic of 2001. But Britain has more sheep than anywhere else in Europe, and farmers, already under pressure from falling prices and low profit margins, say it is not practicable or even necessary.
"We are prepared to fight this to the bitter end," said farmer John Hore, from Pilning, near Bristol. "The strength of feeling is such that it is quite possible we will see farmers taking to the streets. We are just not being listened to. And we need our government firmly behind us.
"We have 30 million sheep in this country - probably more than the rest of Europe put together. They want each one of those sheep to be individually identified. And farmers are saying 'No, it's just not possible'. This could do to the sheep industry what TB is doing to the cattle industry." John Mercer, chief livestock adviser to the National Farmers' Union, said: "It's a crazy rule. It's not wanted. It's not needed. And it could, potentially, devastate the sheep industry. We really need political pressure now."
(Excerpt) Read more at guardian.co.uk ...
Tag ‘em tax ‘em. I think the farmers know.
The same sort of thing is beginning in the USA with cows.
About damn time really. Half my family are farmers, and they only pay a fraction of the taxes they should on transactions and dodgy busness ‘write-offs’ that are in fact for domestic use, whilst suckers who live in towns and cities get shafted by the taxman at every turn and then some because there’s nowhere to hide when you are being paid a tax-deductable salary....
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