§ Mr. Corbettasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) how many inspections have been made by how many Ministry inspectors in each of the past five years of veal units; with what result; in how many cases apparent breaches of the welfare code have been suspected or established; and with what result;
88W(2) how many second or subsequent inspections have been made by Ministry inspectors to poultry establishments in each of the past five years to check on the incidence of beak trimming and blinkering of poultry; with what result: and how many breaches of the welfare code for domestic fowl have been detected in each of these years in relation to poultry;
(3) what is the estimated incidence of beak trimming of poultry; how many cases have arisen in each of the last five years of detected or suspected breaches of the welfare code of domestic fowl in connection with this practice; and with what results;
(4) how many specific inspections have been made by Ministry inspectors in the past five years to check on the incidence of beak trimming and blinkering of poultry; how many inspectors have been involved; and what, on average, is the number of inspections made solely for this purpose which they carry out on average each year;
(5) how many cases of mutilation arising from the blinkering of poultry have been found by Ministry inspectors in the course of (a) routine inspection visits and (b) special inspection visits, in how many poultry establishments; in how many cases prosecution has been considered and brought; and with what results over the same period.
§ Mr. StrangWhen Ministry veterinary officers visit poultry and veal units to check on animal welfare, all aspects are examined.
Over the last five years, visits to poultry and veal units in England and Wales at which welfare was specifically covered were:
Poultry units visited Veal units visited 1974 159 2 1975 162 12 1976 176 13 1977 228 27 1978 201 11 Records of second or subsequent visits are not separately kept. All veterinary staff also oversee welfare wherever they visit livestock premises and other Ministry staff visiting such premises must report cases where more attention to welfare seems needed, so that they can be investigated. The figures above do not take account of that wider coverage.
89WOver these five years there has been an average of 207 officers in the State veterinary service in England and Wales whose duties include welfare inspections.
No cases of illegal blinkering—that method which involves piercing the nasal septum—have been reported. Blinkering by other methods is reported as being very rare as is beak trimming among broiler flocks. Information about the incidence of beak-trimming among laying birds is not complete and the practice is believed to vary in different parts of the country.
Details of breaches of the welfare codes are used as a basis for remedial advice but are not centrally available. Central records are kept of cases of unnecessary pain or unnecessary distress. In the last five years our veterinary inspectors have not recorded any such cases in veal units. In five poultry units unnecessary pain and unnecessary distress were recorded and were resolved by remedial advice. Prosecutions of owners of poultry units have thus not proved to be necessary during the last five years.