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Written Answers to Questions
Tuesday 12 June 1990
AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
Quarantine
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food for which diseases quarantine restrictions on animals can operate ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Maclean : Quarantine restrictions on imported animals are currently applied in relation to foot and mouth disease, Newcastle disease and rabies. Considerable importance is attached to quarantine and the Government believe that such measures should be maintained as long as they are necessary to prevent the introduction of disease.
Caseous Lymphadenitis
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the countries where caseous lymphadenitis is found.
Mr. Gummer : Caseous lymphadenitis is known to occur in many parts of Africa, south America, Asia, Europe, United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the number of (a) sheep and (b) goats affected by restrictions for caseous lymphadenitis by county.
Mr. Gummer : Restrictions are at present imposed on (a) one flock in Buckinghamshire and one consignment undergoing post import on-farm isolation in Nottinghamshire (b) two herds in Buckinghamshire, two herds in Oxfordshire, and one herd each in Berkshire, Surrey and Lancashire. The flock of sheep in Buckinghamshire and one of the two goat herds in Buckinghamshire are on the same premises and subject to the same restriction notice.
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food from which country the current outbreak of caseous lymphadenitis originated ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Gummer : The current outbreak of caseous lymphadenitis appears to be associated with the import of goats from West Germany.
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps he is taking to prevent further cases of caseous lymphadenitis from being imported into the United Kingdom ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Gummer : We continue to rely on certification by exporting countries that sheep and goats sent to the United Kingdom come from premises which are free from caseous lymphadenitis and the herd of origin has shown no clinical
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serological or pathological signs of the disease in the previous three years. Animals should also be examined immediately prior to export. Ministry veterinary officers, local veterinary surgeons and producers have been asked to be vigilant for any signs of the disease and have found infection in April in a group of sheep which were undergoing post import on-farm isolation.Contaminated Pigfeed
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for South Shields of 9 May, Official Report, column 132, if he will list the contaminants now found in pigfeed ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Gummer : No present problems with contaminants have been reported and feedingstuffs associated with recent contaminants have been withdrawn.
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) how many pigs have now been slaughtered as a result of the contaminated pigfeed ; from which counties they came ; and if he will make a statement ;
(2) if he will list the up-to-date information concerning the number of farms and pigs affected by contaminated pigfeed on a county-by-county basis.
Mr. Gummer : The total number of pigs that to date have been slaughtered for welfare reasons and the number of farms where pigs were affected by contaminated pigfeed, county by county, is as follows :