Estonian farmers face flatulence tax on cattle

ALLINN, May 8 (RIA Novosti) - Estonian farmers have received tax notices for methane emissions from their cattle, the country's opposition party, the People's Union of Estonia, said on Thursday.

Ruminants produce large quantities of methane gas through belching and flatulence when they digest grass, which accounts for about 15-25% of overall gas emissions, according to different estimates.

A single cow produces on average 350 liters of methane and 1,500 liters of carbon dioxide per day.

"For Copa-Cogeca, an organization that unites farmers of the European Union, the information received from Estonian farmers came as a huge surprise, and they could not recall a similar precedent in any EU country," said the party's spokesman, Jaanus Marrandi.

No other EU country imposes a flatulence tax on farmers.

A year after joining the Kyoto protocol, authorities in New Zealand proposed introducing a flatulence tax saying that New Zealand cattle are responsible for 90% of the country's methane emissions and 43% of greenhouse gas emissions.