Sheep Scab (Hansard, 21 June 1990)

§ Mr. Maclean

The Government have undertaken a review of their policy for dealing with sheep scab, following a five-year programme involving two compulsory annual dips. As a result, single dips were announced for 1989 and 1990. Sheep scab is a skin condition which, if neglected, may lead to an animal welfare problem but has no human health implications.

Since the industry's rejection of a proposal for the introduction of movement controls in south-west Great Britain, discussions have continued to try to find a solution which achieves our objective of dealing effectively with sheep scab while avoiding unnecessary burdens on the industry. We believe we have now achieved this and we aim to have the new arrangements in place as soon as possible.

Details of the new arrangements are as follows:

(i) The disease will remain notifiable;
(ii) Local Authorities will maintain the right to supervise the annual dip, but the key enforcement measure will be a compulsory declaration by the owner that all sheep on his holding have been dipped;
(iii) When the disease occurs, MAFF veterinary staff wil continue to confirm its presence and place movement restrictions on the infected premises. Restrictions will normally be lifted on the basis of the farmer's own declaration that the action necessary to eradicate the disease has been taken. In cases where a recrudescence of infection occurs, restrictions will not normally he lifted until the farmer's own veterinary surgeon certificates (at the farmer's cost) that no clinical signs of the disease are present in the flock concerned. MAFF staff will have the right to supervise dipping on infected premises. Controls on contiguous premises will be operated flexibly, in accordance with the needs of each case;
(iv) Tracings to find the origin of an outbreak will be initiated in each case, but will be abandoned where they seem likely to involve excessive resources; and
(v) The present arrangements for tracing the potential spread of infection by movements of sheep off infected premises will generally be replaced as follows. A letter will be sent to every recipient of sheep from the infected flock since the end of the preceding national dip, informing the recipient that sheep scab had been confirmed on the premises of origin, reminding him of the need to inspect the sheep and report any suspicion of disease, and advising him to dip his sheep. He will also be advised that if the purchased sheep had been sold on, the information should be passed to subsequent purchasers. However, the State Veterinary Service will retain the option of imposing restrictions on premises which have received sheep from those where infection has been found until the sheep there have been dipped if this is considered appropriate.

These arrangements will come into force as soon as the necessary legislative changes can be made. There will be a 650W further compulsory national dip in 1991 and these arrangements will be reviewed next year to consider options for control measures thereafter.