HC Deb 18 July 1996 vol 281 cc1294-5
9. Mrs. Anne Campbell

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the capacity of abattoirs to cope with the slaughter policy agreed in Florence. [36413]

Mr. Baldry

We expect the existing backlog on the over-30-month scheme to be cleared by the autumn.

Mrs. Campbell

Will the Minister look again at the two abattoirs in East Anglia registered under the BSE scheme, both of which have been operating considerably over capacity for the past few weeks? Is he aware that the difficulties caused to farmers by the low forage stocks and the backlog of animals waiting for slaughter are causing considerable concern?

Mr. Baldry

Under the scheme, we have so far slaughtered more than 250,000 animals—a very large number. We are taking on extra cold storage and I estimate that the backlog will be cleared by mid-October. Farmers should know that any of their cattle that have not yet been slaughtered will be slaughtered in the very near future.