§ Mr. Home RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland by what mechanisms his Department is able to identify the cattle assessed as being at risk from BSE which require to be slaughtered under the Florence agreement; how many such cattle there are in Northern Ireland; and what is the minimum practical time scale for completing the accelerated cull in Northern Ireland.[2133]
§ Mr. AncramIn the event of a cull based on the original proposals in the Florence agreement, the Department of Agriculture for Northern Ireland, could trace all animals born during the period 1 July 1989 to 30 June 1993 which have been reared on the same farm and in the same season as cattle which have subsequently been confirmed as having developed BSE.
There are at present some 1,766 cattle in Northern Ireland which have been identified for inclusion in any such cull. The number is subject to change depending on the number of identified animals which may be slaughtered under other arrangements and additional animals identified because of any new cases of BSE which arise.
Timescale will be governed by the speed at which the on-farm identification and valuation could be carried out. The time required to slaughter these animals would be minimal.