§ Mr. Ron DaviesTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what progress has been made at the Council of Ministers in respect of the development of new standards of battery cages for laying poultry.
§ Mr. MacleanThe Commission is reviewing egg production systems, as required by the EC battery hens directive. I understand that its report, with proposals for revised welfare standards, is likely to be submitted to the Council in the second half of 1992. The United Kingdom will be pressing for significant improvements in welfare conditions and for the directive to be extended to non-cage systems.
Number of suspect BSE animals slaughtered January 1991 County Total slaughtered Number + VE confirmed Percentage + VE confirmed Number pending Avon 63 43 72.88 4 Bedfordshire 6 4 66.67 0 Berkshire 11 8 72.73 0 Buckinghamshire 15 15 100.00 0 Cambridgeshire 6 6 100.00 0 Cheshire 77 74 96.10 0 Cleveland 3 2 66.67 0 Clwyd 33 29 96.67 3 Cornwall 159 130 81.76 0 Cumbria 34 31 91.18 0 Derbyshire 35 32 91.43 0 Devon 200 181 90.50 0 Dorset 179 157 87.71 0 Durham 7 4 57.14 0 Dyfed 113 105 92.92 0 Essex 6 5 83.33 0 Mid Glamorgan 2 1 50.00 0 South Glamorgan 5 4 80.00 0 Gloucestershire 73 62 84.93 0 Gwent 13 9 69.23 0 Gwynedd 5 4 80.00 0 Hampshire 64 54 85.71 1 Hereford and Worcester 38 30 78.95 0 Hertfordshire 8 7 87.50 0 Humberside 8 6 75.00 0 Isle of Wight 14 12 85.71 0 Kent 36 34 94.44 0 Lancashire 50 44 88.00 0 Leicestershire 49 46 93.88 0 Lincolnshire 21 21 100.00 0 London 1 1 100.00 0 Manchester 6 6 100.00 0 Norfolk 37 32 88.89 1 Northamptonshire 8 8 100.00 0 Northumberland 7 7 100.00 0 Nottinghamshire 11 10 90.91 0