Sir, - Re 'EID - not a level playing field!’ on reading the letter in last week's issue, I feel that there are a number of points that need to be put into proper context.

First and foremost, this is a European regulation that no one in the industry wanted.
Secondly, there are sound reasons as to why the whole chain in Scotland decided to go down the route of electronically tagging our slaughter lambs. 
Thirdly, and most importantly, Scottish Government support is there to help with the additional costs of electronic tagging and the sums mentioned in last week’s letter can effectively be halved by joining the Scottish EID pilot .
I would urge all Scottish sheep farmers to go through the easy process of registering as a partner farm with the pilot scheme. By providing the scheme with copies of your invoices from all sheep EID tags bought this year you will receive back the extra cost of buying EID tags – this brings tag costs close to those of our English and Welsh counterparts.
Registering with the scheme is very easy and can be done by going to www.scoteid.com and filling in your holding details.  Alternatively, you can call 01466 794 323.
As to why Scotland went with electronic slaughter tags, the reasoning is sound.  For Scotland to comply with this poor piece of legislation, we needed a system that worked throughout the chain – producer (whether selling store or finished lambs), market and abattoir.  Allowing a mixture of conventional, non-electronic tags and electronic tags would cause difficulties at markets and abattoirs and by consequence, for producers. EID throughout the whole system, combined with movement reporting to a central database by markets and abattoirs, reduces the likelihood of errors occurring and helps with compliance. 
Given the important role of finishers in Scotland, there was also a need for ‘batch within batch’ reporting, ie to help the many finishers who buy lambs from several sources. Finishers require the ability to move lambs from different flocks to slaughter as a single group and for that movement to be recorded.  Electronic tagging eases this process. 
While we have worked hard to find a system that works for Scotland, we watch with interest as some of the major sheep abattoirs south of the Border start to introduce electronic tag readers into their systems despite electronic slaughter tags being optional in England.
  We continue to push the point that EID tagging of homebred replacements that do not leave the holding of birth serves no purpose. Only when animals leave their holding of birth is EID a practical option. 
  I believe that electronic tagging of slaughter lambs is part of this and that, in time, other benefits may emerge through:  
n  potentially lower costs at markets and abattoirs who will only have to work one system
n removal of paper from the chain
n  a tool that will allow food chain and carcase information to be passed back to producers. 

Rob Livesey
livestock committee chairman
NFU Scotland