§ Dr. David ClarkTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the number of(a) laying flocks and (b) breeding flocks of hens in England and Wales.
§ Mr. Donald ThompsonAt the June 1988 agricultural census the number of holdings in England and Wales with laying fowls was 34,099. The number of holdings with breeding fowls was 10,118.
Very small holdings, which make only occasional returns, are excluded from these figures.
375W
§ Dr. David ClarkTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many(a) breeding flocks and (b) laying flocks of hens he intends to monitor for salmonella in the next (i) three months and (ii) year; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Donald ThompsonI shall shortly be introducing secondary legislation under the Animal Health Act 1981 requiring owners or persons in charge of breeding, rearing or laying flocks and hatcheries to monitor their flocks for salmonella and to make records of the results of monitoring available on request to my officials. Positive identifications of salmonella are compulsorily reportable under the Zoonoses Order 1989. This obligation will extend to any positive test results in the course of monitoring.