Time to kill off Electronic Sheep Tagging - Farron tells NFU event

10.25.31am GMT Wed 17th Sep 2008

South Lakes MP Tim Farron was the key note speaker at the National Farmers Union fringe meeting at the Liberal Democrat conference in Bournemouth.

The event featured Mr Farron and the NFUs national Vice President Paul Temple. The meeting was packed with Liberal Democrat delegates, especially from rural areas and focused on the issue of food security and the need to keep farmers in business.

Tim used the meeting to make a clear call for European Commission to dump plans to force sheep farmers into an expensive and ineffective electronic ID scheme for sheep.

"Electronic ID will not help traceability, it won't protect from disease, but it will put farmers costs up dramatically forcing hundreds of sheep farmers out of business. It must be scrapped at once," said Tim.

As DEFRA ministers Hilary Benn and Jonathan Shaw visit the Lake District today, Tim has re-issued his call for them to fight Britain's corner, and to prevent the introduction of the Electronic ID scheme.