§ Mr. Watkinsonasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many cattle in the United Kingdom have been diagnosed as suffering from liver fluke.
§ Mr. StrangAs liver fluke infestation is not a notifiable disease the precise number of animals affected is not known. Few live cattle show signs of suffering from it. However, on the basis of statistics collected from a number of slaughterhouses in England and Wales, it would be reasonable to assume that in 1976 about 11 per cent. of cattle were infested. This figure was comparatively low because of recent favourable summers which have reduced the prevalence of the snail that is the intermediate host.
§ Mr. Watkinsonasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if it is possible for farmers to be notified if cattle sent for slaughter are infected with liver fluke.
§ Mr. StrangWhile there is no formal machinery for notifying farmers of a liver fluke infestation it is open to any farmer who sends his cattle directly to a slaughterhouse to ask the operator for this information to be provided. Where cattle are sold through a market it may be more difficult at the slaughterhouse to link the animals with their farm of origin.