§ Dr. David ClarkTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what information he has concerning the diagnosis of white tigers at Bristol zoo as suffering from spongiform encephalopathy; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. MacleanSpongiform encephalopathy and other lesions were discribed in the brains of four out of six white tigers which died or were killed in Bristol zoo between 1970 and 1977. All six cases had a similar illness of between one and five months' duration with behavioural changes. The changes described by the authors did not resemble those seen in transmissible spongiform encephalopathies. Subsequently, mice and chimpanzees were inoculated with brain material from the tigers but none developed clinical signs suggestive of a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy.