§ Lord Kilmanyasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they are aware that the incidence of grass sickness in horses and ponies is now nearly as prevalent in England as in Scotland, and whether they are satisfied that research on the present scale is being conducted with an urgency commensurate with the distress caused by this disease.
§ Lord BelsteadGrass sickness is not a notifiable disease of horses and precise details about its incidence in England and Scotland are not available. Research work into the disease has been carried out at the Animal Diseases Research Association's Moredun Institute in Scotland and is currently being undertaken at the Royal Veterinary School in London funded by the Wellcome Trust.
985WAMost research work on horses is performed at the Equine Research Station at Newmarket which is funded by the Animal Health Trust. Ministry funds are not available for additional work on this problem, but the effort applied appears to be commensurate with what is required.