§ Dr. StrangTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how long it took to discover the link between the Cheshire and Anglesey brucellosis infected herds; what was the reason for the time taken; and if she will make a statement on difficulties which may have arisen in the training exercise to obtain comprehensive information as early as possible on livestock movements affecting the herd where the outbreak was first discovered.
514W
Export refunds expenditure £ million 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 Cereals 2,271 2,091 1,742 1,774 2,612 2,323 Rice 71 52 39 27 63 72 Sugar 1,090 1,062 950 657 878 929 Olive oil 17 43 61 97 78 34 Oilseeds 46 17 4 0 0 0
§ Mrs. Gillian ShephardBrucellosis was officially confirmed on a farm in Anglesey on 1 October on the basis of preliminary laboratory tests completed on 30 September. Also on 30 September the herd in Cheshire was restricted and testing set in hand. This is normal procedure and there was no delay nor particular difficulty in tracing the animals concerned.
§ Dr. StrangTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what information she has on the original source of the recent outbreak of brucellosis; and what assessment has been made of whether it is likely to have been imported from overseas.
§ Mrs. Gillian ShephardSome of the cattle now affected with brucellosis were imported. Investigations are under way to determine the source of infection and it would be premature to speculate at this stage. The last confirmed case of brucellosis in Great Britain was in 1990.
§ Dr. StrangTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if she will make a statement on the recent outbreaks of brucellosis in herds in Anglesey and Cheshire.
§ Mrs. Gillian ShephardOn 1 October brucellosis was confirmed in a dairy herd on a farm in Anglesey. All animals in that herd were slaughtered by 5 October with compensation. All the cattle which had left that herd since 26 June are being traced and slaughtered.
All the animals which came on to the premises since 26 June have been traced back to the place of origin arid testing undertaken there. This has shown a further three positive reactors to brucellosis in a herd in Cheshire. These three animals have been slaughtered. All other animals on these premises have been tested and are negative at this time but the herd remains under restriction and will be retested in due course. We are currently tracing all the animals, over 500 on 130 premises, which have left these premises since 17 June and the animals which were in contact with the three reactors before they came on to the premises. Further action may be necessary as the investigations continue.