§ Mr. Nigel JonesTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans he has to alter the quarantine regulations for dogs entering the United Kingdom.
§ Mrs. BrowningThe Agriculture Select Committee has recently published a report recommending changes to the rabies quarantine regulations.
The Government share the concern of the committee that it would never support a change which would increase the likelihood of rabies entering the United Kingdom. The question of whether any other arrangements can offer the same or better protection than quarantine is essentially a technical one which the Government will need to consider carefully. The onus is one those recommending change to demonstrate that it offers at least as good a protection as quarantine.
§ Mr. David ShawTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how a dog or cat has to comply with the new import regulations for traded animals as far as vaccination and identification are concerned.
§ Mrs. BrowningThe regulations require that a dog or cat must have been vaccinated against rabies using an inactivated vaccine after the age of three months and at least six months before dispatch to the United Kingdom. In addition, at least one month after vaccination a blood sample must be taken and tested to confirm that the vaccine has been effective. The only approved method of identification for such imports is by an implanted microchip transponder.
§ Mr. David ShawTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether all registered animals entering the country since the introduction of the traded animal legislation last summer have complied with the requirements of the new importation rules.
§ Mrs. BrowningOf the two dog s and one cat imported under the new arrangements set out in article 10(3) of EC directive 92/65 one dog has been put into quarantine, because the necessary microchip identification was absent.