§ Mr. Ron DaviesTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to his answer of 11 November,Official Report, column421, what were the dates of birth of the three cattle; and what research he has undertaken of possible causes of BSE in these cattle.
§ Mr. MacleanThe dates of birth for these cattle were September 1988, November 1988 and June 1989. Detailed epidemiological investigations are being carried out into these cases to establish whether there has been any inadvertent feed contamination and assess the potential for maternal and horizontal routes of infection.
In the case of the animal born in November 1988 our inquiries have almost certainly ruled out a feed source. As its dam also had BSE we cannot rule out the possibility of 712W maternal transmission. Even if it was, the advice we have had from the independent Tyrell committee is that all the necessary safeguards are in place and there should be no change of policy or approach. Inquiries into the other two cases are not complete.