Deputy Minister for Farming and Food, Rebecca Evans has reminded farmers about important changes that affect the way in which sheep keepers identify lambs.
From January 1, all lambs identified and intended for slaughter must be electronically identified either with a single electronic tag or with full EID.
Lambs identified with a non-EID slaughter tag before 1 Jan 16 can continue to move with this identifier until they are deemed to be 12 months old.
A leaflet which clearly sets out the changes was sent to all sheep keepers in Wales with the Annual Inventory forms during December.
The Deputy Minister said:
“This change will simplify the tagging system, improve compliance with the requirement to record different flock marks in mixed batches, and underpins e-reporting in line with the objectives set out in the Strategic Framework for Agriculture and our Working Smarter goals.
“I recognise the significance of cross-border movements and trade and this change aligns the operation of the slaughter lamb derogation with the arrangements in the rest of Great Britain.
“Welsh Lamb is one of our most important and well recognised brands and thanks to the quality of our meat, we are already the biggest exporter of lamb in the EU. By delivering a more efficient system to trace our lamb we can continue to guarantee its provenance and quality which, in turn, will help secure more sales and better prices”.