§ Lord Cope of Berkeleyasked Her Majesty's Government:
How many horses are born in the United Kingdom each year; and how many of them are slaughtered for human consumption. [HL1202]
§ Lord DonoughueInformation is not held centrally on the numbers of horses born each year in the United Kingdom. Precise figures are not kept on the number of horses slaughtered in the United Kingdom for human consumption. However, total exports of horsemeat (for human consumption and other uses) from animals slaughtered in the United Kingdom totalled 2,405 tonnes in 1997.
90WA
§ Lord Cope of Berkeleyasked Her Majesty's Government:
How many horses are born in the European Union each year; and how many of them are slaughtered for human consumption. [HL1203]
§ Lord DonoughueInformation is not held centrally on the numbers of horses born each year in the European Union. In 1996, approximately 370 thousand horses were slaughtered for human consumption.
§ Lord Cope of Berkeleyasked Her Majesty's Government:
Which veterinary medicines or types of medicines currently used to treat horses in the United Kingdom will be banned by the European Union on the grounds that the residue of the drug might be injurious to humans if the horse were to be slaughtered for human consumption. [HL1204]
§ Lord DonoughueUnder Community legislation a marketing authorisation for a veterinary medicinal product intended for administration to an animal whose flesh or products are intended for human consumption cannot be granted unless a maximum residue limit has been established for the active substance(s) contained in it in accordance with the procedures established by Council Regulation 2377/90. Where a maximum residue limit cannot be established at whatever level in foodstuffs of animal origin, because the residues would constitute a hazard to the health of a consumer, the substance is listed in Annex IV to the regulation and products containing such substances and which are indicated for the treatment of animals intended for human consumption must be removed from the Community market.
§ Lord Cope of Berkeleyasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether, under the authorisation procedure in European Council Regulation 2377/90, all drugs available for the treatment of horses before 1 January 1992 will continue to be available for use in the United Kingdom after 1 January 2000 for horses other than those intended for human consumption. [HL1205]
§ Lord DonoughueIn accordance with Regulation 2377/90, the pharmacologically active ingredients of any veterinary medicine that is intended for an animal which may enter the human food chain must have a maximum residue limit (MRL) set. The horse is classified as a food producing animal in the European Union. However, we have been guided by a statement by European Commission officials that, if a horse is not destined for human consumption, maximum residue limits are not required. This has meant that veterinary medicines which contain active ingredients for which no MRL has been set can continue to be authorised for use in horses which are not intended for human consumption.
There can be no guarantee of the future availability of veterinary medicines for which MRLs cannot be established, although current evidence indicates that they will continue to be available in the United Kingdom for use in horses not intended for human consumption.