SHEEP farmers are to be given greater breeding flexibility as partof planned changes to the National Scrapie Plan.

Under plans out to consultation, Type 3 rams - animals that are neither the most resistant nor the most susceptible to scrapie - will now be able to be sold until the end of 2006. Any ram on a scheme farm can be used for breeding purposes until the end of 2008.

The proposals extend the current deadline for selling Type 3 rams by two years and breeding from Type 3 animals by an additional year. It will enable hill breeds, such as the Scottish blackface, Welsh mountain and Swaledale to increase their resistance to TSEs (transmissible spongiform encephalopathies) without losing valuable breeding lines.

Animal Health Minister Elliot Morley said: "I recognise that some breeds, mainly hill breeds, are discouraged from joining the plan because the current rules for phasing out their Type 3 rams may risk losing other important genetic characteristics. I am therefore proposing to change the rules."

Since the National Scrapie Plan was launched in July 2001, about 170,000 sheep have been genotyped. So far, the NSP centre at Worcester has received nearly 10,000 expressions of intent to join the scheme, of which 7,000 have already been converted into firm applications.

Updated: 08:56 Thursday, September 19, 2002