§ Mr. Alex CarlileTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) if sheep scab is a notifiable disease under sections 15 and 88 of the Animal Health Act 1981; and he if he will make a statement; [32891]
(2) how many prosecutions there has been since 1 January 1993 in relation to sheep scab under the provisions of section 15(7) of the Animal Health Act 1981: and if he will make a statement; [32892]
(3) if he will make a statement concerning the purposes and utility of retaining the notifiability of sheep scab. [32893]
§ Mrs. Browning[holding answer 10 July 1995]: Although all secondary legislation detailing the control measures for sheep scab was revoked in 1992, sheep scab remains within the meaning of "disease" in section 88 of the Animal Health Act 1981 and is therefore still technically notifiable to a police constable under section 15(1) of the Act.
A decision on whether to repeal this provision will be taken once I have reviewed what alternative options may be available for dealing with the disease.
The local authority liaison group on animal health matters and the Home Office are fully aware of the situation regarding the notifiability of sheep scab and we will take no action on reported cases unless there are 510W welfare grounds for doing so. I am not aware of any prosecution made under article 15(7) of the Animal Health Act 1981 since 1 January 1993 in connection with sheep scab.