§ Dr. StrangTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what were the dates of entry to the United Kingdom and the route of each consignment of sheep where caseous lymphadenitis was present, the size of each consignment and the numbers of animals infected;
(2) which consignments of sheep entering the United Kingdom from Poland and Spain since 1 January did not comply fully with the requirement to give 24 hours advance notice to the local animal health office; at what point the Ministry became aware of each consignment's arrival in the United Kingdom; and by whom and by what means this information was conveyed;
(3) what assessment she has made of whether the procedures set out in directive 90/425/EEC, as amended by directive 92/60/EEC, were fully complied with in relation to each consignment of sheep imported from Poland and Spain subsequently found to be infected with caseous lymphadenitis.
§ Mrs. Gillian Shephard[holding answer 28 April 1994]: Information on the dates of arrival, the country of origin and the routes taken by each consignment of sheep imported into the United Kingdom from Spain and Poland since 1 January 1994 is given in my reply of 13 April to the hon. Member for Dulwich (Ms Jowell), Official Report, column 180. Information on the size of each consignment, the numbers of carcasses from each consignment condemned at meat inspection due to internal evidence of caseous lymphadenitis, and whether advance notice was received in respect of each consignment is given in the table.
Directive 90/425/EEC requires, inter alia, that the veterinary authorities in each member state ensure that only those animals which satisfy the animal health and welfare requirements for intra-Community trade are permitted to be exported to other member states and that all consignments are accompanied by the appropriate health certification or other documentation laid down in EC rules. The directive also requires that member state veterinary authorities send each other messages, via the ANIMO computer system, when an official export health certificate has been issued, so as to provide advance notification to an importing member state that a consignment of live animals is on its way. Directive 90/425/EEC does not apply to imports from Poland.
637WAs far as the recent imports of sheep from Spain are concerned, after the initial consignment, the Ministry's chief veterinary officer wrote to his opposite number in Spain about a number of deficiencies in the documentation. Subsequent consignments have been accompanied by
Imports of sheep from Spain and Poland since 1 January 1994 (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) Carcases condemned due to internal evidence of caseous lymphadenitis: Date of arrival at slaughterhouse Country of origin Size of consignment (a) Full (b) Partial Details of notification received 17 February 1994 Poland 289 Nil Nil <24 hours advance notification from slaughterhouse 8 March 1994 Poland 291 25 Nil >24 hours advance notification from slaughterhouse 9 March 1994 Poland (via Belgium) 328 12 7 >24 hours advance notification from slaughterhouse 17 March 1994 Poland (via Belgium) 350 9 7 >24 hours advance notification from slaughterhouse 28 January 1994 Spain 243 Nil Nil >24 hours advance notification from slaughterhouse 15 February 1994 Spain 188 Nil Nil <24 hours advance notification from slaughterhouse 8 March 1994 Spain 290 8 19 <24 hours advance notification from slaughterhouse 23 March 1994 Spain 268 8 Nil >24 hours advance notification from slaughterhouse
§ Dr. StrangTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food with what other sheep, or areas frequented by other animals which are not capable of being disinfected after contact, sheep from consignments infected by caseous lymphadenitis came into contact.
§ Mrs. Gillian Shephard[holding answer 28 April 1994]: All consignments of sheep imported from Poland and Spain since 1 January 1994 were imported for slaughter and did not come into contact with other sheep until their arrival at the slaughterhouse in Birmingham. All lairage facilities in Great Britain in which any of the consignments were held en route to the slaughterhouse were required to be cleansed and disinfected after departure of the imported sheep.