§ Dr. Lynne JonesTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is his estimate for the proportion of ewes in the national flock that produce(a) single lambs, (b) twin lambs, (c) triplet lambs, (d) quadruplets or (e) larger numbers. [31127]
§ Mrs. BrowningADAS has estimated that 85–90 per cent. of litters consist of single or twin lambs. Triplet lambs in the lowland flock account for an estimated 10 per cent. of births and 1 per cent. in the hill flock. Larger litter sizes are extremely rare, accounting for less than 1 per cent. of births.
128W
§ Dr. Lynne JonesTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many sheep carcasses were rejected for human consumption at the time of slaughter for reasons of disease or damage caused by bruising or injection site injuries in the last year for which figures are available; and what proportion of sheep offal and other parts of sheep carcasses were similarly rejected. [31124]
§ Mrs. BrowningUntil the establishment of the meat hygiene service on 1 April 1995, meat inspection was the responsibility of local authorities. The information requested is not available centrally and could be collected only at disproportionate cost.
§ Dr. Lynne JonesTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is his estimate for the proportion of the annual lamb crop born before 1 March. [31126]
§ Mrs. BrowningADAS has estimated that 10–15 per cent. of the total national flock lamb before 1 March.