May 28, 2007

Irish farmers to present evidence on Brazil's negligence on its beef production

Beef farmers in Ireland will troop to the European Commission in Brussels to present "extensive factual evidence" on Brazil's lack of control and standards on its beef production.

Irish Farmers Association (IFA) President Padraig Walshe said the "shocking practices in Brazil make a total farce of EU controls and standards", which clearly indicates Brazilian beef entering the European markets is not meeting the standards imposed by the EU Commission.

IFA National Livestock Chairman John Bryan said that based on the evidence found on non-existent cattle traceability, widespread illegal removal and cutting out of tags, totally inadequate movement and foot-and-mouth disease controls and the use of hormone growth promoters are enough facts to push the EU commission to impose an absolute ban on all Brazilian beef imports into Europe.

Bryan has accused the EU Commission, particularly Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson and Consumer Protection Commissioner Markos Kyprianou, of pursuing a politically-motivated trade agenda on Brazilian beef imports, which was placing the European consumer and livestock sector at an unacceptable and unnecessary risk that is not usually tolerated by the United States and a number of other countries.

The Commission must immediately ban Brazilian beef imports if it wants to retain any credibility in the bloc's system of import controls, the IFA leader said.

On the crucial issue of traceability and tagging, Bryan said there is no effective traceability system or cattle tagging in most farms in that matter in Brazil.

He said that on a few farms that were using tags, they found routine and widespread removal and cutting of the official SISBOV tags or the Brazilian system of identification and tags of origin for bovine and buffalo in order to facilitate illegal movement. 

Bryan stated that the movement of cattle from FMD restricted states into unrestricted "clear" states is also prevalent.