‘Save our sheep’ – a rescue blueprint for ailing sheep industry (25/4/08)
April 25, 2008 at 2:56 pm Leave a comment
A major funding injection and a special EU taskforce – these are just some of the elements needed to turn around the fortunes of the ailing sheep industry in Ireland and Europe, according to Ireland East MEP Liam Aylward. The Fianna Fáil MEP has drawn up a ten point plan to save the sheep sector, which will be voted on by the European Parliament next month.
The report recommends that a new EU implementation taskforce, made up of officials from the EU institutions, should be set up to oversee practical reform of the sector. It also calls for national governments to be allowed pay farmers a sheep maintenance grant based on breeding ewes on environmental grounds.
Mr Aylward also advises better labelling of EU sheep meat, backed up by quality assurance schemes. And he suggested that the electronic tagging system, due to be made compulsory by the end of next year, should only be introduced on a voluntary basis in each member state.
Speaking in Strasbourg, the MEP said, ‘We’ve already almost lost a sugar beet industry in Europe and the same will happen to the sheep and lamb sector, so we’ve no choice except to ensure that we have a rescue package that can return sheep farming to a viable, profitable industry. We can’t just have a crowd of old men involved in sheep farming until they die out.’
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