Lord Actonasked Her Majesty's Government:
What action they are taking to prepare in the event that BSE is present in the United Kingdom sheep flock. [HL4505]
§ Baroness HaymanThe Government are adopting a prudent and precautionary approach, and have for some time been working on a risk reduction strategy. This includes an ongoing research programme, including development of rapid screening methods, a national scrapie plan to eliminate scrapie from the national sheep flock, and removal of potentially hazardous material from the food chain. To date, the only BSE that has occurred in sheep has been given to the sheep in scientific experiments, but the Government have in hand preparation of a contingency plan covering actions that might be taken if in the future BSE is confirmed as being present in sheep.