HC Deb 05 March 1984 vol 55 cc441-2W
Mr. Lawrence

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he is aware of any studies currently being made into the immunisation of badgers and other animals against the transmission of diseases; whether the Government are funding any such studies; and what results are emerging.

Mrs. Fenner

Studies into the immune response of badgers are undertaken at the Ministry's central veterinary laboratory, Weybridge. Whilst these studies have shown that many components of the badger's immunological system appear to be normal, those animals developing tuberculosis appear to make ineffective immune responses. The cause of this remains to be discovered.

Mr. Lawrence

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what estimate he makes of the success of his Department's efforts to eradicate badger-carried bovine tuberculosis; and if he will make a statement;

(2) whether there has been any increase in the incidence of (a) bovine tuberculosis and (b) brucellosis in any part of the United Kingdom over the past 12 months; and if he will make a statement;

(3) what effect his Department's recent measures to control bovine tuberculosis have had; and what further measures he is proposing to take.

Mrs. Fenner

Given the sporadic nature of bovine tuberculosis in cattle at current levels of prevalence, attempts to quantify the success of measures taken over a short period are not meaningful. Similarly, it is unproductive to make year by year comparisons of statistics of this disease. We have no plans to take further measures to control this disease.

Sporadic outbreaks of brucellosis have occurred throughout the United Kingdom but the level of active infection is very low. Over the past 12 months there has been an increased number of breakdowns. This is disappointing, but epidemiological studies indicate that many of these breakdowns were related and therefore this does not signal a real threat to the success of the eradication programme.

Mr. Lawrence

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what restraints are imposed upon the use of unselective poisons in checking excessive natural breeding of rabbits and the spread of rabies carried by foxes.

Mrs. Fenner

The use of poisons other than gas to control rabbits and foxes in their burrows or earths is illegal. However, rabies control legislation empowers the Minister of Agriculture to destroy foxes by any method, including the use of poison, in an area which he has declared to be infected.

Mr. Lawrence

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is his Department's assessment of the results of the trial using buried bait of carbonate-based poison as an alternative to the use of strychnine in the eradication of rabies.

Mrs. Fenner

Field trials on Government-owned land were undertaken by my Department in 1982. They were successful and showed that the poison ensured a quick death. It also rapidly degraded in the bait thereby reducing any possible risk to other wildlife.

In the light of these results, the Government have decided that this poison should be used as the most effective means of fox control should there be an outbreak of rabies in this country.

Interested organisations will continue to be informed of continuing trials and development work.