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Rabbits
Mr. Maclean: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the research reports on rabbits he has received since May 1997 and the research studies currently in progress; and if he will make a statement on (a) the use which he intends to make of the research and (b) the main conclusions of the studies. [73322]
Mr. Rooker: A list of research reports received since May 1997, together with their main conclusions and the use that will be made of the results, is as follows:
- 1. Irreversible immunocontraception for the control of wild rabbits--University of Sheffield.
- The contractor was unsuccessful in developing a fully effective technique. Further development is being undertaken as part of the project "Antigen delivery systems for the control of wild rabbits".
- 2. Developing humane, environmentally acceptable and cost-effective methods of rabbit control--Central Science Laboratory (CSL).
- An effective multi-capture cage has been developed. A manufacturer will be undertaking small-scale trials this winter to assess the efficacy of the cage. If these are successful, negotiations on a licence for commercial exploitation may commence.
- An advisory leaflet for farmers on the cause of rabbit fending was produced.
- A safer and more cost-effective method of fumigating rabbit burrows, which is also safer for operators and the environment, has been developed. The method is currently being discussed with industry with regard to commercial exploitation.
- 3. Modelling rabbit populations and designing integrated control packages--CSL.
- An existing mathematical model addressing the optimisation of control techniques was refined. The model was field tested and was found to be accurate except where myxomatosis was prevalent; at these locations, populations surviving after control were generally less than predicted by the model. The results from this project are being combined with those from the project "Predicting damage to crops by rabbits" under the new project "Developing a rabbit management expert system".
- 4. Predicting damage to crops by rabbits--CSL.
- Results from crop preference trials involving winter wheat, winter barley, oats, rye, triticale, oilseed rape and spring barley showed that triticale and spring barley were least grazed. Comparing losses of winter wheat and spring barley suggests that at densities of rabbits greater than 10 per hectare (a fairly light infestation) it would be more profitable to grow spring barley. At levels below 10 per hectare, it is possible to grow winter wheat profitably.
- "No choice" feeding trials using constant numbers of rabbits gave estimates of financial losses of £2.40 per rabbit per hectare for both grass and spring barley.
- The results from this project should be regarded as interim. They are currently being refined in the project "Developing a rabbit management expert system".
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The following research projects are in progress:
Mr. Maclean:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what has been his Department's expenditure on research on rabbits since May 1997. [73323]
Mr. Rooker:
The Ministry's expenditure on research on rabbits for the period 1 May 1997 to 28 February 1999 was about £523,000.
Mr. Maclean:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what official visits he, his Ministers or officials have paid to Zimbabwe since May 1997; who they met; and what was discussed. [73466]
Mr. Rooker:
The only official visit by Ministers or officials in the Department to Zimbabwe since May 1997 was made by a Principal Plant Health and Seeds Inspector who attended a COLEACP quality workshop in Harare on 20-22 October 1997 as a plant health expert. The aim of the workshop was to improve the quality of ACP horticultural products for export. The Inspector met a number of UK importers, Zimbabwe officials from their Ministry of Agriculture and Zimbabwe exporters.
COLEACP is a liaison committee based in Paris and promotes the export of fruit, vegetables and flowers from African, Caribbean and Pacific countries.
Mr. Fitzpatrick:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many calves were slaughtered under the Calf Processing Aid Scheme in (a) 1996, (b) 1997, (c) 1998 and (d) to date in 1999; and how much has been paid out under the scheme in each of the above years. [73489]
Developing a visual scaring device to deter rabbits.
Developing a method for assessing the size of rabbit populations.
Developing a rabbit management expert system.
Rabbit behaviour and population dynamics at fenced hot-spots.
The impact of viral haemorrhagic disease on wild rabbit populations.
Antigen delivery systems for the control of fertility in rabbits.
Reversion of arable land to grass and Calluna health-rabbit grazing aspects.
| Calves slaughtered | Payments to operators (£ million) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 370,550 | 38.3 |
| 1997 | 600,558 | 54.3 |
| 1998 | 658,650 | 51.9 |
| 1999(13) | 71,179 | 4.4 |
(13) To 22 February 1999
Note:
The number of calves is the number on which premium was paid in the relevant year
Parliamentary Questions
Mr. Gill:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he expects to reply to the hon. Member for Ludlow's questions (ref. 68151 and 68129) tabled on 25 January 1999. [73622]
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Mr. Morley:
My hon. Friend the Minister of State and I have today replied to the questions tabled by the hon. Member for Ludlow on 25 January (ref. 68129 and 68151).
Mr. Steen:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what representations he has had requesting Her Majesty's Government to ask the European Union to reconsider its decision to allow the import of Bombay Duck into the EU only if it has been processed in a recognised EU establishment; and if he will make a statement. [73655]
Mr. Rooker
[holding answer 1 March 1999]: My Department has received a small number of inquiries concerning Bombay Duck. None of these have resulted in Her Majesty's Government approaching the European Union about the current import conditions for this product. The need for all fishery products, including Bombay Duck, to originate from approved establishments is a key aspect of the conditions applying to EU imports from third countries. These measures have been established to protect public health.
Mr. Loughton:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what representations he has received regarding the genetic modification of Norwegian salmon imported into the UK. [74048]
Mr. Rooker
[holding answer 2 March 1999]: None.
Sir Richard Body:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the role of his Department in assisting the Commission to prepare EU document 98/1457. [73790]
Mr. Rooker:
Commission Regulation 1457/98 is a routine measure to control the quantities of fruit and vegetable exported with the benefit of export refunds, and the expenditure on such refunds, in order to ensure compliance with WTO commitments. The powers under which the Regulation was made were the subject of the opinion of all Member States. The operation of the system is a matter for Commission competence.
Mr. Gill:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many abattoirs are dedicated to beef export. [R] [73797]
Mr. Rooker:
One abattoir in Northern Ireland is dedicated to slaughtering cattle for export under the Export Certified Herds Scheme. The Date-based Export Scheme is not yet operational. The Commission must carry out an inspection of our procedures before setting a date on which exports may resume. We do not intend to approve plants for export until the Commission inspectors have reported on their findings.
Mr. Gill:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what progress he is making in monitoring the
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compliance of British retailers with their undertaking to sell only pork and pigmeat products derived from pigs produced in the United Kingdom. [R] [73795]
Mr. Rooker:
British retailers have given no such undertaking to the Government. I assume the hon. Member is referring to the undertakings given by the major supermarkets in respect of sourcing own label fresh pork, bacon, and other products from stall and tether and MBM free systems, and not labelling as British products produced or packed in this country using imported fresh pork. The British Retail Consortium is to survey its members to see how far they have got in meeting these undertakings, and I look forward to seeing the results of that survey.
Mr. Gill:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will invoke EU Treaty Article 36 to prevent the importation of pigmeat which does not meet the same standards of production as required in the United Kingdom. [R] [73793]
Mr. Rooker:
No; it is not possible to use Article 36 of the Treaty to impose higher UK standards on imports where EU law has been harmonised as it has been in the case of welfare standards for pigs. Furthermore, the UK ban on the use of Meat and Bone Meal (MBM) is not in place because there is a known risk to the health or life of humans or animals (a stipulation of Article 36) in feeding MBM to pigs. The MBM ban is in place to address the specific risk that, if pig or poultry feed were to contain MBM, there would be a real risk of contamination (accidental or deliberate) of ruminant feed with pig or poultry feed.
Mr. Gill:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of whether the volume of pigmeat imported into the United Kingdom is consistent with the number of pigs produced in other countries without sow stalls and tethers and without feed containing MMB. [R] [73796]
Mr. Rooker:
I have made no such assessment.
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