HL Deb 30 June 1999 vol 603 c34WA
Lord Blyth

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether the current trend of increased failures in tuberculosis testing of dairy herds is similar to that experienced during post mortem inspection of bovines in slaughterhouses. [HL3188]

Lord Donoughue

There has been an increase of around 60 per cent. in the number of cattle which reacted to the tuberculin test and were subsequently found to have TB in 1998 compared with 1997. The data do not distinguish between dairy and other cattle. The number of carcasses found to have TB following routine post mortem inspection in slaughterhouses by Meat Hygiene Inspectors increased by around 47 per cent.