§ Mr. Tony BanksTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food on how many occasions in the past three years his inspectors have supervised, examined or monitored the slaughter of factory farm mink and Arctic fox; and by what method killings were carried out.
§ Mrs. BrowningIn the last three years officers of the State Veterinary Service have monitored the slaughter of Arctic fox on one occasion and of farmed mink on 11 occasions. The method of slaughter used for the Arctic fox was by lethal injection. The methods used for the308W farmed mink were exposure to CO and CO2, and by lethal injection.
§ Mr. Tony BanksTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if mink or Arctic fox are still present at premises at Brooksbank avenue, Scholemoor, Bradford.
§ Mrs. BrowningWhen last visited by the State Veterinary Service in November 1994 no mink or Arctic fox were found on these premises.
§ Mr. Tony BanksTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps have been taken to improve the welfare of mink and Arctic fox kept at factory farms since the Farm Animal Welfare Council report of April 1989.
§ Mrs. BrowningThe welfare of animals farmed for their fur is protected by the Agriculture (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1968, which makes it an offence to cause them unnecessary pain or distress. Fur farms are subject to annual visits from officers of the State Veterinary Service, who will check that this legislation is being complied with. We are currently consulting interested organisations on additional advice received from the Farm Animal Welfare Council in 1994.
§ Mr. Tony BanksTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many licences were issued for mink factory farms for each county of England and Wales in each of the last five years.
§ Mrs. BrowningNo licences have been issued in Wales in the last five years. The numbers of licences issued in England are as follows:
309W
Number of Licences issued in England during the last five years1 County 1 April 1990–31 March 1991 1 April 1991–31 March 1992 1 April 1992–31 March 1993 1 April 1993–31 March 1994 1 April 1994–31 January 1995 Cheshire 2 2 1 — — Cornwall 1 1 2 1 1 Dorset 1 1 1 1 1 Hampshire — — — — 1 Humberside 2 — 1 — — Isle of Wight 1 1 1 1 1 Lancashire 9 9 9 4 4 Norfolk 1 1 — — — Northumberland 1 1 1 1 1 South Yorkshire 1 — — — — Staffordshire — — — 1 1 Suffolk 3 3 2 2 1 West Yorkshire 4 — 2 1 1 Total 26 19 20 12 12 1 The date of issue of a licence does not necessarily correspond with the date on which the licence comes into effect.