§ Sir Anthony Kershawasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) how he proposes to eradicate tuberculosis in badgers; and when he believes eradication will be achieved;
(2) whether it is still his policy to kill all cattle infected with tuberculosis; and what are the causes of tuberculosis in cattle;
(3) whether the incidence of tuberculosis in cattle is higher in badger infested areas than in others; where these areas are; and what steps he now proposes to eradicate tuberculosis in cattle in such areas;
(4) whether badgers cause tuberculosis in cattle; and what steps he proposes to correct this situation.
§ Mr. Peter WalkerTuberculosis in cattle arises from infection by a mycobacterium, nearly always Mycobacterium bovis, very rarely Mycobacterium tuberculosis. In the inquiry which Lord Zuckerman undertook at my request, he confirmed that badgers constituted a wildlife reservoir of Mycobacterium bovis from which cattle could be infected. Since then there has been powerful and further corroboration of the discovery of cross-infection between badgers and cattle. There is a statistically significant correlation between the incidence of the disease in cattle herds and the density of active badger sets.
Areas where badger control operations have proved necessary lie in the South West of England, Staffordshire and South Wales.
The policy for eradication of tuberculosis in cattle at farms will continue to rest on the slaughter of reactors to 390W the tuberculin test and their close contacts and the investigation of sources of infection. Badger control operations—using appropriate methods—will continue to be undertaken when it can be established that an infected social group constitutes a health hazard to cattle
§ Sir Anthony Kershawasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) how much compensation he has paid to cattle owners whose cattle have been slaughtered in the past five years because of tuberculosis; where these cattle were kept; and what was the cause of the infection;
(2) how many cattle were slaughtered in 1981 and in the five previous years because of tuberculosis infection; where these cattle were; and why they became infected with tuberculosis.
§ Mr. Peter WalkerThe information requested is as follows:
Compensation paid £ Great Britain 1977 205,092 1978 303,644 1979 396,088 1980 289,446 1981 365,227 Total last five years 1,559,497 Number of cattle slaughtered under official arrangements: Great Britain (previous five years) 1976 1,150 1977 856 1978 902 1979 1,185 1980 942 1981 1,011 I shall write to my hon. Friend with a geographical analysis.
With each herd breakdown a standard investigation procedure aimed at establishing the source of infection is followed. But to pursue investigations beyond this point to try and establish the source of infection in every case would involve disproportionate costs.
§ Sir Anthony Kershawasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many badgers in the constituency of the hon. Member for Stroud have been found to have been infected with tuberculosis in each of the last five years; and how many cattle have been slaughtered in the same area because of tuberculosis.
§ Mr. Peter WalkerThe information requested is as follows:
Stroud constituency Infected badgers Cattle slaughtered because of TB 1977 39 41 1978 22 32 1979 29 19 1980 22 27 1981 27 44