Register now: Poland’s 6m cows need eartags

Commentary. As part of Poland's efforts to meet the requirements of the European Union's Integrated Administrative and Control System, its cows must be ear-tagged. The ear-tagging is necessary to comply with the EU-standard animal registry and this must be in place by 2004 to protect food safety and prevent the spread of diseases such as foot-and-mouth and BSE. Crucially for Poland, the system is also used to calculate subsidies under the Common Agricultural Policy.