§ Mr. LlwydTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on progress with proposals for the future selective cull. [7914]
§ Mr. BaldryThe Government announced on 19 September that they would not proceed for the present with the selective cull of cattle in relation to BSE.
The decision was taken in the light of interim research findings, reported in July, in which a higher proportion of the offspring of BSE cases themselves developed BSE than a similar group of cattle which were not the offspring of BSE cases. Further analysis of that study is being undertaken. Also, the analysis published by Professor Roy Anderson and his team at Oxford university in August indicated that the epidemic will virtually die out around
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(a) Payments to Land Managers £000 Actual Provision1 Estimate2 Planned3 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 ESA4 10,900 16,500 20,100 29,100 37,020 31,803 33,690 37,708 41,190 NSA5 — — — 2,375 6,100 3,645 4,740 5,700 6,050 CSS6 — — — — 12,225 12,225 17,650 21,900 27,400 HS7 — — — 950 2,000 1,420 1,820 1,880 1,910 MS8 — — — — 350 104 252 378 462 OAS9 — — 26 270 455 406 846 1,092 1,212 CAS10 — — — 50 2,500 80 120 120 120 2001 irrespective of any further measures, that the targeting in the original cull proposal could be improved, and that there might be other possible approaches.
This does not mean that the Government have abandoned the selective cull. The cull options will be reconsidered after further consideration of the latest scientific developments, and in the light of progress with relaxing export restrictions in relation to herds which can be certified to have had no history of BSE.