§ Mr. KeyTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food which recommendations of the Scientific Veterinary Committee in paper VI/1533/92-EN-REK1 formed the basis of the derogations in the Balai directive which establish a different system for the UK and Ireland from that in the remainder of the European Community. [32194]
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§ Mrs. Browning[holding answer 10 June 1996]: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave to him on 24 April, Official Report, columns 211–12.
The Scientific Veterinary Committee report confined itself to evaluating the risks of spreading rabies through the movement of rabies susceptible animals within the European Community and providing an opinion on how these risks might be reduced or eliminated. It did not discuss the detail of how to apply new rules on the movement of traded dogs and cats. The provisions in the Balai directive on the movement of traded dogs and cats into the UK and Ireland from elsewhere within the European Union are therefore not identical to any specific recommendations within the report. These provisions represent the safeguards which the Council of Ministers believed were necessary in the light of the risks which the report identified.