§ 16. Mrs. OrganTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the report of the independent Husbandry Panel on TB and cattle husbandry. [131279]
§ Ms QuinWe welcome the report of the independent Husbandry Panel on TB and cattle husbandry which was published on 16 May and we are considering its findings in consultation with the Independent Scientific Group on Cattle TB, the TB Forum and other interested parties.
§ Mr. Andrew GeorgeTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of the co-operation among(a) farmers and (b) others in the proactive cull sites in the MAFF bovine TB trial areas with those carrying out the trials. [131762]
§ Ms Quin[holding answer 24 July 2000]Co-operation by farmers and landowners with the badger culling trial is very good and participation is in excess of 80 per cent. of those approached to participate. There has been some interference with the trial by protesters, which we deplore. The trial design allows for these factors and the Independent Scientific Group overseeing the trial has advised that it remains on course to produce valid conclusions about whether and in what circumstances badger culling can help reduce TB in cattle.
§ Mr. Andrew GeorgeTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many badgers have been killed in each of the eight identified MAFF trial triplet areas so far identified in the(a) reactive and (b) proactive cull sites. [131760]
§ Ms Quin[holding answer 24 July 2000]Culling of badgers has begun in five triplets. The data for completed operations as at 20 July 2000 is shown in the table:
Number of badgers culled Triplet Proactive area Reactive area Gloucester/Hereford 55 0 Devon/Cornwall 323 73 East Cornwall 246 128 North Wiltshire 602 0 West Cornwall 451 0