§ Baroness Byfordasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the principal target organs in carcasses of badgers examined by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in the period 1974 to 1998 that had died or had been killed in extremis from bovine tuberculosis were (a) lungs plus associated lymph nodes (glands); and (b) kidneys; and what was the proportion of each. [HL1109]
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§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Whitty)Most of the badgers examined by MAFF between 1974 and 1998 were either trapped and killed as part of badger removal operations subsequent to cattle breakdowns or killed in road traffic accidents.
Of the 44,286 carcasses examined in this period, 5,690 cultured positive for Mycobacterium bovis. Of these (a) 1,281 badgers had visible lesions in either the lungs or associated lymph nodes and (b) 342 had visible lesions in the kidneys.
§ Baroness Byfordasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the principal routes by which infection is spread from badger to badger is (a) respiratory, and (b) through bite wounds. [HL1111]
§ Lord WhittyEvidence from post-mortem examination and live clinical sampling suggests that the principal route ofMycobacterium bovis infection among badgers is likely to be respiratory. However, M. bovis has also been isolated from bite wounds, although, whether these resulted from transmission by biting or haematogenous spread following another portal of entry is unclear.
§ Baroness Byfordasked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Lord Whitty on 7 February (WA 90), why the Independent Scientific Group has refused to disclose the results of postmortems on badgers; whether the results are known to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; and whether the results should be in the public domain. [HL1306]
§ Lord WhittyThe Independent Scientific Group on Cattle TB advises that the results of the post-mortems of badgers should not be disclosed at present to avoid either encouraging illegal action against badgers or deterring participation in the randomised badger culling trial (RBCT).
The results of badger post-mortems are not yet available to Defra. The RBCT is still incomplete, and the documentation on the statistical analysis carried out so far, and other trial data, is still in draft form. The trial data, and analyses of these, will be published when the trial is complete.
§ The Countess of Marasked Her Majesty's Government:
How many badger carcasses were examined by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food between (a) 1974 and 1995; (b) 1996 and 1998; and (c) 1998 and 2004 in the United Kingdom; how many were found to be positive for Mycobacterium bovis; and what are the numbers in each case for England and Wales, and for each county within England and Wales. [HL1133]
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§ Lord WhittyThe table below shows the total number of badger carcasses examined, and the number found positive forMycobacterium bovis, between 1974–95 and 1996–98 in Great Britain and for each county in England and Wales.
We are unable to supply figures for 1998–2004 as the majority of badgers caught during this period were taken as part of the ongoing badger culling trial. The Independent Scientific Group on Cattle TB advises that these results should not be disclosed at present to avoid either encouraging illegal action against badgers or deterring participation in the badger culling trial. However, information on the location of badgers killed in road traffic accidents, where TB is diagnosed, is released to divisional veterinary managers to inform the measures they take with respect to disease control in cattle in the vicinity.
Table: Total number of badger carcasses examined, and the number found positive for M. hovis, between 1974–95 and 1996–98 in Great Britain and for each county in England and Wales.
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1974–95 1996–98 Region/County Number of badgers examined Number positive for M. bovis Number of badgers examined Number positive for M. bovis Avon 3,118 447 414 62 Bedfordshire 36 — — — Berkshire 32 — — — Buckinghamshire 138 — — — Cambridgeshire 35 — — — Cheshire 297 1 35 — Cleveland 1 — — — Clwyd 59 2 — — Cornwall 8,157 964 2,027 315 Cumbria 121 — 1 Derbyshire 256 35 — Devon 4,005 521 1,221 207 Dorset 2,120 111 335 83 Durham 17 — — — Dyfed 734 12 131 7 East Sussex 873 45 125 52 Essex 311 1 — — Gloucestershire 7,630 1,325 1,240 349 Greater Manchester 3 — — — Greater London 2 — — — Gwent 205 12 133 42 Gwynedd 33 1 — — Hampshire 169 — — — Hereford & Worcester 757 55 946 362 Hertfordshire 219 — — — Humbershire 8 — — — Isle Of Wight 7 — — — Kent 186 1 — — Lancashire 13 — 4 — Leicestershire 438 — 1 — Lincolnshire 82 — 1 — Merseyside 4 — — — Mid Glamorgan — — — Middlesex 22 — — — Norfolk 4 — — — North Yorkshire 31 — 1 — Northamptonshire 197 — — — Northumberland 47 — — — Nottinghamshire 27 — 3 — Oxfordshire 78 1 7 — Powys 288 — 2 — Shropshire 144 1 98 3 Somerset 1,500 79 532 83 South Glamorgan 7 1 — South Yorkshire 7 — 1 — Staffordshire 356 4 223 21 Suffolk 41 1 — — Surrey 130 2 — —
1974–95 1996–98 Region/County Number of badgers examined Number positive for M. bovis Number badgers examined Number positive for M. bovis Tyne & Wear 10 — — — Warwickshire 241 — — — West Glamorgan 13 — 1 West Midlands 32 1 — — West Sussex 42 — — West Yorkshire 18 — — Wiltshire 2,964 361 457 154 Wales total 1,346 27 273 50 England total 34,926 3,921 7,707 1,691 Scotland total 34 1 0 GB total 36,306 3,949 7,980 1,741 Data provided by the Veterinary Laboratories Agency on 7 February 2005.
§ The Countess of Marasked Her Majesty's Government:
Why no badger carcasses from Gwent were examined for Mycobacterium bovis between 1996 and 1998. [HL1134]
§ Lord WhittyDuring the period 1996–98, 133 badgers carcasses from Gwent were examined by MAFF as part of the bovine TB programme.
§ The Countess of Marasked Her Majesty's Government:
Why no badger carcasses from Shropshire were examined for Mycobacterium bovis between 1974 and 1978. [HL1135]
§ Lord WhittyNo badger carcasses from Shropshire were examined by MAFF between 1974–78 as part of the bovine TB control programme since Shropshire was not badly affected by the disease in this period.