§ The Countess of Marasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the BSE infected brain homogenate fed to the experimental calves at the Central Veterinary Laboratory, Weybridge, had been cooked at a temperature above 100°C, or whether it was administered in a raw state. [HL362]
§ The Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food(Lord Donoughue):BSE infected brain homogenate was fed in a raw state to calves at the Central Veterinary Laboratory, Weybridge, in the course of research into BSE.
§ The Countess of Marasked Her Majesty's Government:
What was the origin of the calves used in the BSE research conducted at the Central Veterinary Laboratory, Weybridge; what was their breeding; and whether they or their dams were ever treated with warble fly dressings approved by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. [HL363]
193WA
§ Lord Donoughue:The calves used in the Pathogenesis Study of BSE at the Central Veterinary Laboratory were sourced from 12 farms with no history of confirmed cases of BSE. Apart from the requirement that the calves were Friesian/Holstein and male, no other specific selection criteria were applied because it was not possible (or desirable) to source all the calves for one experiment from a single farm and not possible therefore to control all variables. Consequently, calves are allocated to challenge and control groups in the experiment in a random manner to eliminate bias as a result of influences determined by the source farm.
§ The Countess of Marasked Her Majesty's Government:
How many cattle were the subject of research into BSE at the Central Veterinary Laboratory, Weybridge; how many were slaughtered at what ages; how many of the slaughtered cattle demonstrated positive results of infectivity; and how many demonstrated negative results for BSE infectivity at each age. [HL364]
§ Lord Donoughue:Forty calves were used in the study of the Pathogenesis of BSE at the Central Veterinary Laboratory, Weybridge. All available interim results of their ages at slaughter and the demonstration of infectivity in their tissues are published (Wells et al 1998 Veterinary Record 142, 103–106) and further details of infectivity in tissues of these cattle will be published when available.