§ Mr. Home RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the progress of his Department's search for cattle associated with BSE cases to be culled under the terms of the Florence agreement; how many cattle have been identified so far; what is his latest estimate of the likely total; how many farms are involved; and what is his estimate of the time scale for completing this search and concluding the accelerated cull. [16318]
§ Mr. Raymond S. RobertsonOn-farm visits to natal herds, in which a confirmed case of BSE was born, started in the week beginning 27 January. So far, the total number of Scottish cattle that have been identified through these visits as having been exposed to the same feed as BSE cases is 286. Of this number, 49 animals have so far been confirmed as exposed by the central veterinary unit, all of which have moved out of the natal herd and need to be traced further. The latest estimate of the number of cattle affected in Great Britain is 90,000 to 100,000, of which around 4,300 may be in Scotland. However, the true number of animals affected can be determined only by on-farm visits.
Around 300 farms in Scotland have herds in which a confirmed case of BSE was born. Farms which have bought in exposed animals will also be affected. Again, the number of such farms can only be established through the visits to the natal herds, and subsequent tracing visits.
474WIt is very difficult at this early stage to estimate the length of time it will take to conclude the cull.