§ Mr. Jon Owen JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will publish evidence that he has evaluated on whether BSE-infected meat is currently present within the human food chain in Wales. [12162]
§ Mr. Gwilym JonesThe Government have put in place a number of measures to protect the public health from any risk from BSE. These include the destruction of all cattle suspected of suffering from BSE and the removal of specified bovine material to ensure that issues in which BSE infectivity might be found do not enter the human food chain. No infectivity has ever been found in meat.
Returns for BSE enforcement measures show continuing high compliance rates. Full details of all measures and compliance are published on a regular basis in the BSE enforcement bulletin. This is widely available and copies are placed in the Library.
§ Mr. Barry JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on his policy concerning BSE as it affects farms in Flintshire. [12287]
§ Mr. Jonathan EvansThe control measures introduced by the Government have put the BSE epidemic into sharp decline. The number of new cases is currently at the lowest level for over six years.
We announced on 16 December 1996 that we would be moving ahead with the selective cull throughout the UK. We will have fulfilled all the Florence preconditions by implementing the cull; we shall be pressing for early progress on lifting the ban. We have listened carefully to the views of the farming industry on this matter, and have undertaken consultations both on the selective cull and on proposals for certified herds.