§ Mr. MallonTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many non maedi-visna tested sheep were accepted to the Department of Agriculture's sheep improvement scheme, in each year since 1980.
§ Mr. Peter Bottomley[holding answer 6 November 1989]: We do not know. I will write to the hon. Member about the testing procedure for accreditation.
§ Mr. MallonTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what requirements must be met before sheep will be accepted on to the Department of Agriculture's Northern Ireland sheep improvement scheme in Northern Ireland.
§ Mr. Peter Bottomley[holding answer 6 November 1989]: The sheep improvement scheme has two main parts: on-farm recording of lambs and performance testing of ram lambs.
To be registered as a recording flock a veterinary surgeon must have certified that all sheep in the flock are free from disease and physical defects. The flock must contain at least 20 ewes, in the case of a flock containing sheep of the blackface breed, and in the case of any other flock, five ewes.
Ram lambs accepted for performance testing must be from fully maedi-visna accredited flocks and have been vaccinated for the main clostridial infections and pasturella pneumonia at least four weeks before the commencement of the test. The Department also assesses ram lambs for weight and size for age, quality and soundness to determine suitability for entry to test.