§ Lord Graham of Edmontonasked Her Majesty's Government:
What monitoring for BSE in cattle do they propose to undertake in 2000–01. [HL1968]
§ Baroness HaymanIn line with advice from SEAC, the Government's Scientific Advisory Committee on BSE, the Government propose to test for BSE in 10,000 cattle aged over five years slaughtered under the Over Thirty Months Scheme. This programme will start in April 2000. It will follow on from last year's similar survey of almost 4,000 cattle. The aim of this second survey will be to monitor the decline in the BSE epidemic in the UK.
This initiative will be additional to the EU-wide testing programme of casualty and fallen stock which was agreed in the Standing Veterinary Committee on 4 April with UK support. It will start in January 2001, and require the UK to examine about 7,000 cattle annually.