§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what information is available on the numbers of cattle herds in England, Scotland and Wales that(a) did and (b) did not experience any BSE cases in the years 1989, 1990 and 1991.
§ Mr. SoamesThe number of herds with at least one confirmed case of BSE reported during the following years is shown in the table:362W
England Wales Scotland 1989 3,920 397 175 1990 6,504 712 374 1991 9,393 1,292 581 It is not possible to give precise figures for herds which did not suffer any confirmed cases of BSE, because agricultural census information does not differentiate between holdings with single and multiple herds or record minor holdings. But the numbers of holdings without a confirmed case in each of the years concerned were as follows:
England Wales Scotland 1989 77,831 19,519 16,983 1990 73,186 18,877 16,673 1991 68,423 17,947 116,466 1 Using 1990 census.