§ Mr. David NicholsonTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what investigations he is making as to the causes of death of numbers of sheep and lambs in west Somerset and elsewhere; whether the injections of sheep by the vaccines Heptavac P and Ryvac 7P and the simultaneous use of an organo-phosphrous compound in sheep dips are safe; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Donald ThompsonMy officials are assessing all relevant information, including so far as is possible the husbandry, nutritional and medical history of the flocks where suspected adverse reactions have occurred, and results of post mortem examinations.
Vaccines such as Heptavac P and Ryvac 7P and organo-phosphrous sheep dips have both been very widely used in the national flock for many years without giving rise to any evidence that their use together is unsafe. Nevertheless, it is a point I have asked my officials to examine in the context of their investigations.