SCOTMOVES, the new system for recording cattle movements between 'linked' farm holdings – geographically separate farms operated by the same business – was under continued attack this week, as the Scottish Conservative's agriculture spokesman Peter Chapman questioned the logic of its 48-hour time limit.

Ahead of its implementation, NFU Scotland wrote to Mr Ewing calling for greater flexibility in that time period, to take better account of weekends and delays in updates to the Scottish system from the national Cattle Tracing System.

But with ScotMoves now in place, and with it that 48-hour limit, Mr Chapman has continued to pressure Rural Economy Secretary Fergus Ewing to rethink the length of the reporting window. Mr Chapman said he was “at a loss” to understand why the new system required notification within two days, while the existing Cattle Tracing System for non-linked holdings allowed for 72 hours.

“I have written to the Cabinet Secretary because I asked a perfectly simple and straightforward question in the chamber – why can’t we just make it a three day window rather than two? I am bitterly disappointed that I did not get an answer," said Mr Chapman.

“Instead, the Minister launched into attack mode and suggested the Scottish Conservatives were trying to undermine the system to detect and prevent the spread of disease. Anybody who has had any involvement in farming will know that is always a top priority. Nobody is suggesting that we should not have a robust system in place.

“All that I am saying, and all that the NFU has said, is that we need some flexibility in the reporting times. Consideration must be given, for example, for what happens over weekends when cattle are moved on a Friday. Farmers doing their best to comply with the regulations could still face penalties."

However, ScotGov responded that farmers were not being asked to do more than they did previously, as an up-to-date holding register has always been a requirement, and the ScotMoves rules allowed 48 hours rather than the existing 36 hours for it to be updated.

It insisted that the new online system was making it simpler and easier to trace cattle movements and potentially reduce the impact of a disease outbreak, and pointed out that, since its launch on January 1, with 2018 farmers and crofters had registered to use the system on 4298 additional holdings.

Scotland's Chief Veterinary Officer Sheila Voas said: “I am delighted that the new ScotMoves system is working well and has been well received by farmers and crofters, with a number commenting on how simple and easy it is to use.

“The system is designed to help industry protect against the unthinkable prospect of disease. By enabling us to have quick access to high quality and accurate information, we are better placed to deploy our resources effectively to better protect Scotland’s livestock from disease," said Ms Voas.

“My thanks goes to all the staff at ScotEID who worked tirelessly over the New Year period, dealing with an increased volume of calls on a variety of issues, such as requesting application forms, allocating the IDs of cattle to additional holdings, and asking for advice all of which enabled a smooth transition.

“I would also encourage any farmers or crofters not yet registered to use ScotMoves to do so as soon as possible.”