§ 4. Mr. Donald Stewartasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will fund eradication schemes for hydatid disease in the Western Isles and Skye.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland (Mr. John MacKay)Efforts to assist the local communities in these areas to combat the disease have been made for some years now by the veterinary and medical services. Discussions with a number of organisations are proceeding urgently with the aim of stepping up these efforts.
§ Mr. StewartI thank the Minister for that reply. Is he aware that veterinary bodies assert that such schemes could go ahead relatively cheaply, and that the cost of medical and surgical attention that may be needed for one patient may be higher than the cost of those schemes? In view of public anxiety, will he say when these schemes are to be put under way as a matter of urgency?
§ Mr. MacKayI can tell the right hon. Gentleman that a pilot scheme has begun in Skye to discover ways to eradicate the disease in dogs, because they carry it. We are also examining an appropriately self-contained area on Lewis to help our research. The cure lies in people dosing their dogs over a number of years to eradicate the tapeworm which the dogs carry.
§ Mr. JohnstonMay I press the Minister on his use of the word "urgently"? Is he aware that the disease has been present for many years on Skye, which I represented before my hon. Friend the Member for Ross, Cromarty and Skye (Mr. Kennedy)? Although progress has been made, there have been no signs of urgency. How much would it cost to start some successful schemes?
§ Mr. MacKayIn response to the hon. Gentleman who no longer represents Skye, I can tell him that one reason why we are setting up pilot schemes is to assess their cost and effectiveness. However, there is no doubt that we should get the message over to the local community that their dogs carry the disease and that if they dosed their dogs for eight or 10 years, the disease would be eradicated.