§ Mr. Austin MitchellTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what research he has commissioned on the spread of bovine spongiform encephalopathy to mice; what figures are available on the incidence of bovine spongiform encephalopathy among mice; and what information he has on the possibility of communication of bovine spongiform encephalopathy from mice to humans;
(2) what restrictions have been placed on the export of British mice as a result of the spread of bovine spongiform encephalopathy.
§ Mr. MacleanResearch has shown that bovine spongiform encephalopathy can be transmitted to mice in experimental conditions by intra-cerebral inoculation of BSE brain tissue and by feeding large quantities of infective material. Both are unnatural methods of infection which cannot be mimicked in field conditions. Questions about its incidence, risk and control do not therefore arise.