The Welsh Assembly Government has launched a three-month consultation on how rare breeds of sheep should be treated under a genotype-based compulsory breeding programme.

The move is in line with the European Commission requirement for member states to introduce compulsory breeding programmes for scrapie resistance in flocks of high genetic merit, including all pure-bred breeding flocks including rare breeds.

In the UK this will take the form of a compulsory ram genotyping scheme to be introduced in 2006, which will require the removal of the most scrapie susceptible rams.

However the Welsh Assembly Government is taking advantage of a derogation to allow owners of some rare breed flocks to keep their most susceptible rams.