§ Mr. Steelasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what steps he has so far taken to control the spread of fowl pest;
(2) what further action he intends to take to prevent the spread of fowl pest in the light of two further outbreaks confirmed in the last week; and whether the policy of his Department will continue to be the slaughter of affected birds.
§ Mrs. FennerWhen an outbreak is confirmed the flock in question is slaughtered and movement restrictions are imposed in an area of about 10 kilometres radius round the affected premises, which are cleansed and disinfected.
More generally, the feedingstuffs trades alerted their members to the problems at our request with the aim of minimising risk of spread. New subordinate legislation was also introduced which has enabled us to apply movement restrictions on certain stores containing raw material for feedingstuffs. We are also surveying stores elsewhere to assess if there is risk of infection from them. These measures have been designed to break the chain of contamination.
The present policy is being maintained but I keep in close contact with the poultry industry on policy options in the light of developments.