Campaigners flock to Scottish Parliament over EU electronic sheep-tagging plan

By Oliver Farrimond

PROTESTORS drove a flock of sheep to the Scottish Parliament to complain about new EWE-ropean Union plans to fleece Scottish farmers with a new electronic tagging system.

Farmer Kelvin Pate brought the sheep and their lambs to meet Tavish Scott, leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, who was due to debate the measures later in the afternoon.

Critics say the mandatory scheme would place an unnecessary financial burden on hard-up farmers, and that the plan was not suited to the craggy Scottish countryside.

Scott, himself a former farmer, said that the proposals were not practical, and were the result of woolly thinking from Brussels.

He said: “These sheep tagging plans are unnecessary, unworkable and will push farmers and crofters out of sheep production.