§ Mr. Spellerasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many sheep are still affected by radioactivity as a result of the Chernobyl accident; what information he has as to the fate of those sheep kept on Exmoor and now sold; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Donald ThompsonSome 340,000 sheep either within or moved from the outstanding restricted areas of the United Kingdom under Government consents are still subject to the movement and slaughter controls introduced following the accident at Chernobyl.
There are controls on sheep originating on Exmoor since monitoring surveys demonstrated that there was not a contamination problem in that area. However blue, red or apricot marked sheep which moved there from the restricted areas of Cumbria, Wales or Scotland are still subject to certain controls. In summary, these are that the slaughter of blue-marked sheep has been permitted provided they first pass a live monitoring test and receive a distinctive Government ear tag. From 16 February similar arrangements have been applied to red-marked sheep.
§ Mr. Spellerasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food by what means he monitors the movement and ownership of sheep affected by the Chernobyl accident; and what steps he is taking to ensure that such sheep are not sold and slaughtered for human consumption.
§ Mr. Donald ThompsonNo sheep may leave the outstanding restricted areas of the United Kingdom without a Ministry, Welsh Office or Scottish Office consent. This consent is conditional upon the sheep concerned being live monitored for radioactivity. Any which fail the live monitoring test are identified by a special paint mark and it is an offence to slaughter sheep so marked. Ministry, local authority and Meat and Livestock Commission staff all help to ensure that sheep carrying such marks are not admitted for slaughter.
Individual categories of sheep are released from the above slaughter controls only when retesting shows that radioactivity has fallen to acceptable levels.