RESTRICTIONS on breeding sheep, which are not the most scrapie resistant, are being extended by a year.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs made the announcement this week as part of the National Scrapie Plan to breed out the brain disease from the UK flock.

The change is being made ahead of the European Union's genotype-based breeding programme which will be compulsory from April 2005. It requires rams with no scrapie resistance the VRQ genotype to be slaughtered or castrated while there will be movement restrictions on VRQ ewes.

Defra has not yet decided how it will apply the compulsory scheme. It will be the subject of consultation taking place over the summer on the future of the National Scrapie Plan.

Under the current rules farmers can still breed from Type 3 rams those carrying neither the most resistant not the most scrapie-susceptable genes - without restriction until December.

Thereafter sale and on farm use restrictions apply from January 2005 and December 2007 respectively for those breeds with higher levels of genetic resistance and from January 2007 and December 2008 respectively for those breeds (mainly hill sheep and rare breeds) with lower levels of genetic resistance.

The revised scheme will extend the deadlines for Type 3 sales to December 2005 and December 2007 respectively and the farm usage deadlines to December 2008 and December 2009. For more details contact Defra on 08459-335577.