§ Mr. Brian WilsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what action is taken against livestock producers who send cattle suffering from bovine spongiform encephalopathy for slaughter without declaration of the disease.
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonBovine spongiform encephalopathy is a progressive disease of cattle which was made notifiable under the Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (No. 2) Order 1988 and failure to notify the divisional veterinary officer is an offence against the Animal Health Act 1981. However, there is at present no blood or other tissue test available for detecting the disease in the live animal; a presumption that the disease may be present can therefore only be made on the basis of clinical symptoms as observed. Confirmation can be made only after slaughter on the basis of analysis of brain tissue.
Stress appears to cause exacerbation of clinical symptoms in some animals, particularly, for example, if transported. In some cases, therefore, it is possible that little or no evidence of the disease may be apparent on the farm and the disease may not be recognised until after transportation and arrival at the abattoir.
The question of whether a prosecution should be undertaken in such cases must be decided in the light of the individual circumstances relating to the case.
§ Mr. WilsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland in how many cases bovine spongiform encephalopathy has been identified(a) on farms and (b) in abattoirs in Scotland, in each of the past six months.
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonThe number of cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy identified on farms in Scotland between 8 December 1989 and 8 June 1990 is 230.
The requirement separately to record cases found in abattoirs was introduced on 1 February 1990 and since that time four cases have been reported.