§ Mr. Clifton-BrownTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which areas of England and Wales can resume hunting and at what date; what precautions they must take; and what the timetable is for resumption of hunting in all other areas. [R] [16758]
846W
§ Alun Michael[holding answer 21 November 2001]: Hunting (except the hunting of deer) will be able to resume in foot and mouth disease free counties of England and Wales from 17 December under a temporary system of permits issued by DEFRA local animal health offices. I published details of the system and the Veterinary Risk Assessment on 15 November and placed copies in the House of Commons Library. The list of foot and mouth disease free counties is updated weekly and can be viewed on the Department's website http://www.defra.gov.uk/. The Veterinary Risk Assessment is that hunting should be permissible in other areas once those areas also achieve foot and mouth disease free status.
Restrictions on hunting arise from the need to prevent further outbreaks of foot and mouth disease, which remains a central concern of the Government. We also want to enable the countryside to return to normal as quickly as possible. To keep the balance right we are allowing hunting to resume to the extent that is consistent with the Veterinary Risk Assessment and with conditions that reflect the assessment.
The precautions to be taken when different forms of hunting resume are outlined in proposed permit conditions, which have been placed in the Library of the House and are also available on the DEFRA website. I have invited interested parties to let us have any comments on the proposed permit conditions by 7 December. I have already met representative groups to explain the background and to discuss the arrangements.