§ Mr. ProsserTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if Local Veterinary Inspectors carry out pre-export inspections during the hours of darkness. [93039]
§ Mr. MorleyInformation on the time of day when inspections are undertaken is not kept centrally. However, we are aware that many inspections are carried out in buildings under artificial light, irrespective of the time of day when they are undertaken. It is the Local Veterinary Inspector's responsibility as the certifying officer to ensure that the conditions during his inspection are such that he is able to carry out his certifying officer responsibilities properly.
§ Mr. ProsserTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what arrangements he makes to ensure that his staff at Dover dockside are able to make proper inspections when livestock vehicles are loaded on to the ship during the hours of darkness. [93038]
§ Mr. MorleyState Veterinary Service staff stationed at Dover are equipped to carry out the necessary inspection of vehicles carrying livestock for export, whatever the time of that inspection.
§ Mr. ProsserTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps he is taking to discourage regular sailings of the vessel which carries live farm animals from Dover to the continent at night; and if he will make a statement. [93040]
§ Mr. MorleyNone. The timing of sailings of any vessel, whether it carries live animals or not, is a matter for the operators of the vessel and their customers, provided that the relevant regulations are obeyed.
§ Mr. ProsserTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what proportion of the sailings of the vessel carrying live farm animals from Dover to the continent began during the hours of darkness in the last year for which figures are available. [93037]
Table 1: Number of live sheep and pigs certified for export to other member states of the EU during the period 1 January 1999 to 26 July 1999 Destination country Sheep for breeding Sheep for fattening Sheep for slaughter Pigs for breeding Pigs for fattening Pigs for slaughter Belgium — — — 7,275 — — Denmark — — 757 — — — France 30 70,777 — 2,984 — — Germany 1 17,750 — 26,599 — — Greece — — — 193 — — Italy — 9,632 — 3,502 — — Netherlands 11 77,394 — 10,467 — — Portugal — — 4,092 177 — — Republic of Ireland 31 — 80 57 4,205 55,452 Spain — — — 2,081 — — Total 73 175,553 4,929 53,335 4,205 55,452 Source:
GB figures were obtained from the Ministry's CENTAUR/Animo computer system. Department of Agriculture Northern Ireland figures were obtained from ANIMO messages sent to other member states vis the Eurocom computer system. The figures are provisional and subject to change.
552W
§ Mr. MorleyIn the period 1 October 1998—30 September 1999, out of a total of 195 sailings of vessels carrying live farm animals 103 (52.8 per cent.) began between 8.00 pm and 6.00 am the following morning.
§ Mr. ProsserTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many(a) live sheep and (b) live pigs have been exported for (i) slaughter, (ii) further fattening and (iii) breeding to date in 1999; and how many of each was exported to each individual country of destination. [93036]
§ Mr. MorleyThe tables show the number of live sheep and live pigs exported from the United Kingdom during the period 1 January 1999 to 26 July 1999.
Table 1 shows the number of animals certified for export from the UK to other member states during the period 1 January 1999 to 26 July 1999. These figures are derived from the electronic messages which European law requires exporting countries to send to importing countries to inform them of the number of animals being exported in a given consignment.
The number of pigs exported to the Republic of Ireland for slaughter may have been influenced by a fire in a pig plant in Northern Ireland which reduced slaughtering capacity in the Province.
Table 2 shows data for exports to third countries. Specifically, it shows the number of export health certificates, which were prepared and sent to official veterinarians for completion during the period 1 January 1999 to 26 July 1999. In the case of exports to third countries, precise figures of how many animals were ultimately exported are not available as there is no central record kept showing exactly how many animals were certified for export to third countries. The cost of collecting this level of detail would be disproportionate.
There were no exports from Northern Ireland to third countries.
In view of the continual updating of statistics, the figures in Tables 1 and 2 remain provisional and subject to change.
553W
Table 2: Number of live sheep and pigs for which export health certificates were prepared for export from Great Britain to Third Counties during the period 1 January 1999 to 26 July 1999 Destination country Sheep for breeding Sheep for fattening Sheep for slaughter Pigs for breeding Pigs for fattening Pigs for slaughter Canada — — — 268 — — China — — — 4,588 — — Czech Republic — — — 183 — — Japan — — — 264 — — Kenya — — — 7 — — Latvia — — — 360 — — Mexico — — — 26 — — Russia — — — 50 — — Slovenia — — — 161 — — St. Helena 6 — — 20 — — Thailand — — — 40 — — USA — — — 114 — — Total 6 0 0 6,081 0 0 Note:
There were no exports from Northern Ireland to third countries.
Source:
The Ministry's CENTAUR computer system. This information is provisional and subject to change. The central computer system is updated periodically to remove details of withdrawn export consignments from the records but we cannot guarantee that this information is complete. Confirmation of the actual numbers of animals exported could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.