HL Deb 19 January 1998 vol 584 c219WA
Lord Vinson

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether the new requirements on the preparation of sheep carcases for sale were based on concerns about the transmission of BSE to sheep or on concerns about the incidence of scrapie. [HL28]

Lord Donoughue

The requirements for the preparation of sheep carcases for sale are primarily intended to protect public health against the possibility that BSE exists in the sheep flock, even though there is, at present, no evidence that BSE occurs naturally in sheep.

There is no evidence to suggest that scrapie presents a risk to human health.