§ Miss Fookesasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what information was collected during 1975 to establish the level of brucellosis infection in cattle in Dartmoor National Park.
Number of accredited dairy herds Percentage of all dairy herds Total number of cattle in accredited herds Percentage of all cattle in county (1) (2) (3) (4) Cornwall … … … … 1,383 42% 78,535 34% Devon … … … … 3,997 80% 234,544 60% Note:
Columns (1) and (2) refer to dairy herds only.
Columns (3) and (4) refer to all herds.
§ Mr. Hicksasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to which parishes in east Cornwall the compulsory brucellosis eradication programme, intended to commence on the 1st November 1979, will apply.
§ Mr. StrangA firm decision on the precise area to be covered from 1st November 1979 will be announced later, but our present thoughts are that it will be to the east of a line roughly from Wadebridge, through Bodmin and Lost-withiel, to Fowey.
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§ Mr. StrangA free blood test for brucellosis was offered in August 1975 to owners of all herds not already participating in the voluntary schemes. 171 herd owners accepted this offer and 150 herds had been tested by the end of 1975. Our assessment of the level of brucellosis infection in the Dartmoor National Park is based on the results of these tests and our knowledge of the 560 herds in the voluntary schemes.
§ Miss Fookesasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he is satisfied that sufficient veterinary manpower is available in Devon to make progress in the campaign to eradicate brucellosis there.
§ Mr. StrangYes, on the basis of the programme that I announced on 19th January in reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Rother Valley (Mr. Hardy). —[Vol. 903, c.338–40.]
§ Mr. Hicksasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, for the counties of Cornwall and Devon, separately, how many dairy herds are accredited free of brucellosis; what percentage this represents of the total number of dairy herds; and what is the estimated number of brucellosis free cattle in these counties, and the percentages these figures represent of all livestock.
§ Mr. StrangThe information as at 31st December 1975 is as follows;