§ The Countess of Marasked Her Majesty's Govnernment:
What is the total number of cattle slaughtered under the BSE monitoring scheme found to be suffering from tumours of the brain. [HL3341]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Whitty)Testing of cattle for BSE involves sampling of brain stem tissue, which is then subjected to a rapid test for BSE. Brains are not examined for tumours in the course of testing for BSE. As at the end of March 2002, over 175,000 cattle have been tested, of which just over 500 tested positive for BSE.
Of the 1,218 animals reported as suspect cases for of BSE in 2001, 371 were not found to have the disease. Among these would have been animals suffering from other neurological diseases, including possibly tumours.