§ 24. Mr. Buchanan-Smithasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimate he has made of the cost to farmers of entering the brucellosis accreditation scheme; and what is the average cost to each applicant.
§ Mr. MackieNo meaningful estimates of this kind can be made because the cost will vary widely according to the size and circumstances of the farm and its livestock enterprise.
§ Mr. Buchanan-SmithWould the hon. Gentleman acknowledge that it is not only public money but large sums of money invested by individual farmers that is bound up in the accreditation scheme? Will he press forward as urgently as possible with the area eradication proposals, because until that is done all this public and private money is at risk?
§ Mr. MackieI have already dealt with the first part of that supplementary question. The answer to the second part is that my right hon. Friend has given a date for the start of the area eradication scheme.
§ 26. Mr. James Davidsonasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will take immediate steps to ensure that any live cattle imported into the United Kingdom have been blood-tested for brucellosis and are warranted not to be reactors.
§ Mr. MackieThis is already done for cattle entering Great Britain from outside the British Isles. Similar conditions 1248 are applied by the Northern Ireland Government, who are responsible for disease control measures there. Special conditions apply to animals joining herds in the Brucellosis (Accredited Herds) Scheme.
§ Mr. DavidsonIs the hon. Gentleman aware of the widely held opinion in the cattle trade that the Republic of Ireland is one of the main sources of the disease entering this country?
§ Mr. MackieNo. I am not aware of that.
§ Mr. Gibson-WattWould the hon. Gentleman confirm that his remarks were designed to include Eire, particularly in relation to the export of cattle from Eire to Wales and North-West England?
§ Mr. MackieMost of these cattle are fats and stores, and they do not affect the brucellosis situation at all. The smaller number of breeding cattle that come in from Ireland are looked after by people who would not take them into a brucellosis-free herd.
§ 27. Mr. James Davidsonasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, on the basis of the latest evidence available to his veterinary advisers, what proportion of the total United Kingdom cattle stock is infected with brucellosis and which are the areas worst affected.
§ Mr. MackieAny estimate of the incidence of brucellosis must be treated with reserve. Our veterinary advice is that increased incidence centering on the West Midlands and reduced incidence in East Anglia appear to be the only significant changes in recent years in the national or area pattern of this disease in Britain.
§ Mr. DavidsonDoes not this give the Minister sufficient information to enable him to start with an eradication scheme in some of the areas which are not so badly affected?
§ Mr. MackieAs I said earlier, the date for the beginning of the scheme is more or less fixed as 1971. Although we have had a big improvement in East Anglia, we are not ready yet.
§ Sir Clive BossomHave the Minister and his staff considered an ear-punching scheme for non-reactors in this country?
§ Mr. MackieThis is a very difficult matter, as the hon. Member knows. Many of the reactors are reacting because of strain 19 vaccination. In any event, how many holes does the hon. Gentleman propose there should be in a beast's ear? He knows that we already have complaints from the animal lobby that there are too many, and if we start punching one, two, three, or more holes to signify vaccinations and reactors, we shall have even more complaints.
§ Mr. HazellAs the disease has become substantially a reducing factor in East Anglia, could not my hon. Friend press his right hon. Friend to start an earlier pilot scheme in East Anglia?
§ Mr. MackieMy right hon. Friend is present and will have heard that suggestion.