§ Mr. MorleyTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what guidance he issues in respect of the definition of premises of origin for the purposes102W of export health certification; and for how many days animals have to be held at such premises prior to export. [4255]
§ Mrs. Browning[holding answer 15 November 1996]There is no specific definition of premises of origin. For cattle and pigs for breeding and production, there is a requirement that the animals have remained on holdings for 30 days preceding loading or since birth. Time spent at an approved collection centre, assembly point or place of loading may be counted as part of the 30-day period. Similarly, rams for breeding must be kept for 60 days on a holding where no case of contagious epididymitis has been diagnosed in the previous 12 months.
§ Mr. MorleyTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many live sheep have been exported from the United Kingdom between July and October, inclusive. [4250]
§ Mrs. Browning[holding answer 15 November 1996]The information gathered by the Ministry's staff monitoring exports at Dover shows that the number of live sheep exported during this period was:
Number July 131,730 August 142,398 September 139,767 October 118,696
§ Mr. MorleyTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many loadings of consignments of sheep destined for export have been supervised by MAFF full-time staff since March 1996. [4251]
§ Mrs. Browning[holding answer 15 November 1996]The loadings of 16 consignments of sheep were supervised in this period.