§ Mr. ForthTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list for the review of animal welfare controls on live exports(a) the expected completion date and (b) the cost of conducting the review. [8236]
§ Mr. MorleyThe conclusions of this review will be announced as soon as practicable. Work such as this on the validation of procedures is part of the Department's planned activities and does not result in an addition to running costs.
§ Mr. EtheringtonTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many(a) live sheep and (b) consignments of live sheep were exported from Dover on 5 July; what was (i) the place of departure and (ii) the final destination given on the route plan in respect of each consignment; what was (1) the time of departure and (2) the time of arrival at final destination 458W of each consignment; where each consignment received the 24-hour break stipulated by the Welfare of Animals (Transport) Order 1997 and if a full 24 hours was spent there; how many livestock vehicles were turned away from Dover by his officials on 5 July and for what reasons; and if he will make a statement. [8537]
§ Mr. MorleyFour vehicles containing 2,280 sheep were exported from Dover on 5 July. Two locations in Italy were declared as the destinations and the place of departure was in Essex. The ship departed from Dover at 01.00 and the animals were due to arrive at their destinations during the early morning of 7 July having received two 24-hour rest periods, one at the start of the journey and the other at premises in Belgium during the journey. In the port of Dover, two vehicles were served with an enforcement notice requiring the animals to be accommodated in premises close to Dover because the vehicles did not meet the additional criteria necessary for a journey of over more than eight hours, as required by schedule 7 to the Welfare of Animals (Transport) Order 1997.
§ Mr. BakerTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps he takes to establish the journey times taken for each movement of non-human primates from entry into the crate in the country of export to arrival at point of destination in this country; if he sets a maximum journey time for such journeys; and if he will make a statement. [8216
§ Mr. Morley[holding answer 14 July 1997]: There are no statutory limits on journey times for such animals. The Welfare of Animals (Transport) Order 1997, implementing directive 91/628 as amended, sets transport conditions and specifies that animals which are subject to the convention on international trade in endangered species—CITES—shall be transported in compliance with CITES guidelines or the standards set by the International Air Transport Association. Enforcement of the order is a matter for local authorities.