§ Mr. Martyn JonesTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what evidence he has assessed which suggests that imported replacements for cattle lost in the bovine spongiform encephalopathy cull are putting the health of the national dairy herd at risk from(a) warbles, (b) ticks, (c) brucellosis, (d) foot-and-mouth and (e) bovine pleuropneumonia; and if he will make a statement. [40123]
§ Mrs. BrowningI am not aware of any evidence to suggest that cattle imported to replace cattle to be slaughtered under the BSE control programme would put the health of the national dairy herd at risk. Clearly increasing trade in live animals does increase disease risk but we are satisfied that the rules for imports of livestock into Great Britain strike the right balance between the removal of barriers to trade and the need to prevent the introduction and spread of serious diseases.
§ Mr. JonesTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many imported cattle are currently estimated to be at risk from bovine spongiform encephalopathy and if he will make a statement. [40126]
§ Mrs. BrowningApart from the United Kingdom there have been recorded cases of BSE in indigenous cattle in France, Portugal, the Republic of Ireland and Switzerland. The numbers of BSE cases confirmed in these countries indicate that the risk of BSE infected cattle being imported is low. The European Commission has called for studies to determine the precise extent of BSE in the Community. A small number of cases of BSE have been recorded in the UK in imported animals but only one, which came from France, is considered with certainty to have been infected before importation.