§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of the size of the current black market in veterinary medicines for horses in the United Kingdom; and what assessment he had made of the impact of European Council Directive 81/851/EEC after 1 January 2000. [55805]
§ Mr. RookerWe do not hold information on a 'black market' in veterinary medicines for horses. Any evidence of medicines being sold or supplied illegally should be sent to the Veterinary Medicines Directorate, who will pursue instances vigorously.
428WCouncil Regulation EC 2377/90 requires maximum residue limits (MRLs) to be set for all veterinary medicines used for food producing animals by 31 December 1999. It is a matter for the companies concerned to provide the data to support an application for an MRL. A number of applications for assessment have been received but there are some active ingredients for which the necessary data to support an application for an MRL have not been provided within the deadline laid down by the Council Regulation.
§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the use, in horses, of sedatives prior to general anaesthesia in preventing perioperative death. [56755]
§ Mr. RookerAll applications for marketing authorisations for veterinary medicinal products are assessed against statutory criteria of safety, quality and efficacy. As part of this process, the applicant company is required to submit data to the Veterinary Medicines Directorate where they are carefully assessed by qualified specialists. Where appropriate, advice is also sought from the independent scientific Veterinary Products Committee (VPC) which advises Agriculture and Health Ministers on veterinary medicines. No product is approved unless it satisfies the criterion for efficacy.
§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food which pre-operative sedatives used in the UK for horses do not currently have a submitted maximum residual level; how many he expects to have a MRL by 1 January 1999; and how many presently have a submitted MRL. [56752]
§ Mr. RookerThere are six active ingredients in veterinary medicinal products used as pre-operative sedatives for horses in the UK. Four of these have been included in Annex II (substances not subject to maximum residue limits) of Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2377/90 as amended. The two remaining active ingredients, acepromazine and xylazine, are currently being assessed.