§ Mr. LevittTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in what circumstances it is permissible to give feed containing animal offal to herbivorous farm animals in the United Kingdom and to sell such feed for export. [20365]
§ Mr. RookerThe BSE (No. 2) Order 1996 prohibits the feeding of mammalian protein (including that derived from mammalian offal) to ruminants. It also prohibits the feeding of mammalian meat and bone meal (MMBM) to all farmed livestock (including any equines and fish). This Order also prohibits the sale or supply of ruminant feed containing mammalian protein and livestock feed containing meat and bone meal, and imposes strict controls on the production and sale of feeding stuffs for livestock to ensure that it cannot be contaminated with mammalian meat and bone meal. The export of MMBM is prohibited by the Bovines and Bovine Products (Despatch Prohibition and Production Restriction) Regulations 1997. No export health certification for exports of MMBM was available after the introduction of the export ban on 27 March 1996.
The Specified Bovine Material Order 1997 prohibits the feeding of specified bovine material (SBM) to any creature. It also prohibits the use of SBM in the manufacture of feedingstuffs and the sale of feedingstuffs 484W containing SBM. This legislation will be replaced on 1 Janaury 1998 by the Specified Risk Material Regulations 1997 and the Specified Risk Material Order 1997. There are no such restrictions on the feeding of non-mammalian offal (e.g. poultrymeal or fishmeal) to herbivores, providing it has first been processed to appropriate standards.
There is an exemption from each of these prohibitions to allow the feeding of mammalian protein, mammalian meat and bone meal and specified risk material to animals for research purposes in research establishments licensed for the purpose by a MAFF veterinary inspector.