§ Lord Burtonasked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Lord Donoughue of 27 March (WA 263–4), why the compulsory slaughter of, and subsequent compensation for, offspring from cows which have contracted BSE has been stopped as from 1 January, if such offspring are more likely to develop BSE than other cattle raised in similar conditions. [HL1397]
§ Lord DonoughueWe have not yet introduced a programme for the compulsory slaughter of offspring of confirmed BSE cases. We are still awaiting a positive decision on our proposals from the Standing Veterinary Committee. We submitted proposals to the European Commission on 2 October for the compulsory slaughter of offspring born on or after 1 August 1996 to BSE cases. These proposals underpinned those for a Date Based Export Scheme, designed to lift the export ban for all cattle born on or after 1 August 1996.
Both of these proposals were considered by the Commission's Scientific Steering Committee (SSC) in December 1997, and subsequently revised by my officials. A second, combined proposal was submitted to the Commission on 29 January 1998. A copy of this proposal is in the House Library. We are now pressing the Commission to put a proposal in front of their Standing Veterinary Committee.