In an attempt to get the worldwide ban on British beef lifted, the authorities have decided to introduce a cattle database. Every bovine animal born will have their details entered onto a computer database and will be issued with a passport. If the animal is moved off-farm, the journey will be entered into the database, and the passport updated.
Initially, the British government was intent on having this database run by a commercial company, and several firms did submit tenders. However, the European Commission insisted that the database should, initially at least, be run by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries & Food (MAFF). This was to ensure that MAFF would take full responsibility for the proper establishment of the system.
MAFF announced that it would cost it