§ Dr. David ClarkTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what inspections he carries out in slaughterhouses to ensure that cattle with bovine spongiform encephalopathy and sheep with scrapie do not enter the food chain; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Donald ThompsonOn the advice of the Southwood working party, the carcases of cattle suspected of having bovine spongiform encephalopathy are destroyed as a precautionary measure. The Slaughterhouses (Hygiene) Regulations 1977, as amended, prohibit the entry of animals which are diseased, or suspected of having a disease into a slaughterhouse unless they are accompanied by a certificate issued by a veterinary surgeon which states that the animals are not suffering from any disease or condition which would render the carcase unfit for human consumption.
Scrapie has been present in this country for at least 200 years without any evidence of a risk to humans. Neither has research identified such a risk. Therefore action to prevent sheep with scrapie being slaughtered for human consumption would not be appropriate.