§ Miss Emma NicholsonTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps are being taken by his Department to ensure that blue ear disease in pigs is kept out of the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. MacleanUnder European Community rules, member states are not permitted to send breeding or production pigs to other member states from holdings or, where appropriate, municipalities where the new blue ear pig disease exists.
The disease has been confirmed in Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain. Because we have no foot and mouth disease quarantine premises approved for the handling of pigs, we do not, in any case, import live pigs from these countries. There is no evidence that pigmeat contributes to the transmission of this disease, but we shall continue to keep a close watch on developments and we shall press for additional controls if these appear justified on the basis of scientific evidence.