§ Mr. HeppellTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food at how many mink factory farms the killing of mink was witnessed by Ministry officials over the past three months; how long officials were in attendance at each mink factory farm; and what methods were used to carry out the killing, broken down by county in each case. [68148]
§ Mr. Morley[holding answer 27 January 1999]: All licensed mink farms were inspected during the killing period. The actual killing operation was observed on six farms in Cornwall, Dorset, Hampshire, Northumberland, Lancashire and Yorkshire. The following killing methods were used: carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and pentabarbitone injection.
Background NoteWelfare inspections of fur farms (in practice licensed mink farms) are made twice a year, once at the time of killing (November). Although the actual killing operation will not be observed in all cases, the veterinary officer carrying out the inspection is charged with ensuring that those responsible are aware of, and follow the requirements of, the welfare legislation. No central records are kept of the duration of visits but at a minimum they would take at least an hour.
§ Mr. HeppellTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many mink and fox fur factory farms there are by county in England and Wales. [68146]
§ Mr. Morley[holding answer 27 January 1999]: There are currently the following number of mink farms in England:
County Number of licensed mink farms Cornwall 1 Dorset 1 Hampshire 1 Isle of Wight 1 Lancashire 5 Northumberland 1 South Yorkshire 1 Staffordshire 1 West Yorkshire 1 Total 13 There are no licensed mink farms in Wales.
There is no requirement to register fox fur farms. However, I am not aware of any in England or Wales.