§ Lord Melchettasked Her Majesty's Government:
How many cattle have been slaughtered as bovine tuberculosis reactors within the areas in the South-West of England in which the Ministry of Agriculture have been gassing badgers in each of the last five years, and, of those so slaughtered, how many cattle were tested after slaughter for bovine tuberculosis, and in how many of these cattle were old lesions present and in how many could infection be cultured.
Earl FerrersThe numbers of cattle slaughtered as reactors in the counties concerned were as follows:—
All were examined after slaughter for evidence of bovine tuberculosis and samples were cultured from the first animal(s) in a herd to react. When M.bovis was confirmed in a herd, samples from subsequent reactors were not cultured. It is not considered practicable to assess the age of lesions.
1976 771 1977 457 1978 417 1979 289 1980 623