§ Dr. David ClarkTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what has been the actual cost of his tuberculosis eradication scheme(a) in general and (b) for badgers for each of the last 10 years; what are his estimates for future expenditure for 1990–91, 1991–92 and 1992–93; and if he will make a statement;
(2) if he will give the number of man years of those employed in his Ministry on (a) tuberculosis eradication in general and (b) tuberculosis and badgers for each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. GummerThe information requested could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
§ Dr. David ClarkTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, further to his answer to the hon. Member for South Shields of 5 July,Official Report, column 687, how many outbreaks of tuberculosis have been recorded on a county-by-county basis for each year since 1986; if he will indicate, for each year and in each county, how many outbreaks were considered to have connections with badgers; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. GummerIn a number of counties in the south and west of Great Britain, a significant proportion of the now confirmed cattle TB breakdowns are considered to have connections with badgers.
§ Dr. David ClarkTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what percentage of cattle have contracted tuberculosis on a county-by-county basis in each of the last six years; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. GummerThe table sets out for counties in England and Wales for the years 1986–89 the numbers of tuberculosis reactor cattle slaughtered in which tuberculosis was confirmed, expressed as a percentage of the total number of cattle in the county. Information in the form requested is not available for earlier years.
558W
County 1986 1987 1988 1989 Avon 0.006 0.003 0.035 0.042 Bedfordshire — — 0.004 — Cornwall 0.005 0.014 0.011 0.025 Clwyd — — — 0.0005 Derbyshire — — — 0.0005 Devon 0.0009 0.010 0.003 0.002 Dorset — 0.004 0.003 0.002 Durham 0.008 — — — Dyfed 0.002 0.001 0.003 0.002 Gloucestershire 0.010 0.025 0.024 0.019 Gwent — — — 0.004 Hampshire 0.002 — 0.0008 — Lancashire — 0.0007 — —
County 1986 1987 1988 1989 Leicestershire — — — 0.0006 Lincolnshire — — — 0.002 Norfolk 0.002 — — — Northumberland — — 0.0005 — Powys 0.002 — — 0.0004 Somerset 0.0003 0.003 0.0003 — Staffordshire 0.002 — — — Suffolk — — — 0.003 Surrey 0.006 — — — West Sussex — — — 0.008 Wiltshire 0.0008 0.0009 — — Yorkshire 0.0002 — — 0.0002
§ Dr. David ClarkTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will introduce, as part of his tuberculosis control programme, areas where badgers are not killed; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. GummerBadgers are not killed in the Gloucestershire study area and, at the time of his report, Professor Dunnet considered additional such areas to be unjustified. This possibility has been reconsidered as a means of assessing the effect of any badger control strategy with the same result.