QUEENSLAND will continue oppose the introduction of individual electronic ear tags for sheep, despite Victoria announcing it will go it alone with an eID system from January 1.
AgForce Sheep and Wool president Sandy Smith at about $3.50/tag plus the expense of the equipment needed to read the tags, the the significant higher costs of the system did not justify replacing the existing lower cost system.
Under the current mob based system, each animal has a eartag stamped with property identification code (PIC) from where the animal originated. A national vendor declaration accompanies each mob to provide traceability.
“While the not mob based system is probably not perfect, neither is the electronic ear tag system, especially given the cost,” Mr Smith said.
“Its one thing to read tags on cattle and another for sheep. Some of the trial work suggests there is a fair amount of difficulty in successfully reading individual animals.”
Mr Smith’s comments follow the Victorian Government’s announcement that it will require all sheep and goats born in Victoria after January 1 to have an electronic ear tag.
The Victorian government has agreed to subsidise the electronic tags, bringing the cost down to 40c and buy back redundant management tags, at least during the new system’s introductory period.
In a statement issued today Sheepmeat Council of Australia president Jeff Murray said the current system was world leading.
“It’s simple, effective and suitable for Australian production and conditions,” Mr Murray said.
“What is particularly disappointing is the fact that this decision will have national ramifications, yet little or no national consultation has taken place.”
WoolProducers president Richard Halliday said Victoria’s decision to have one system while neighbouring states operate under another, was neither practical nor advantageous in any regard.
“It sends a poor message to our trading partners,” Mr Halliday said. “While the Victorian government has indicated it will initially subsidise the cost of implementing the system, ultimately the cost of infrastructure upgrades and the cost of tags in the long term will be passed to producers.”
Goat Industry Council of Australia president Rick Gates said as an industry improvements to traceability systems were always welcome.
In no way are our organisations opposed to the use of electronic identification if it is appropriate for their businesses,” Mr Gates said.
“However, we must have a system that is appropriate for all sheep and goat productions systems across the country.”
Mr Murray said industry and administers of the system needed to urgently consider the practical implications of the decision on a national basis.
“We commit to engage in the Victorian government’s consultation process and work towards ensuring the best possible outcome for sheep and goat producers.”