§ Mr. Liddell-GraingerTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what action she is taking to speed up the process of the collection of cattle and assist farmers with welfare problems in Exmoor. [10778]
§ Mr. MorleyUnder the animal movement restrictions which apply to control the spread of foot and mouth disease, collection for movement is permitted to only a single destination on any one day at present.
Following representations from Exmoor farmers, veterinary advice is that provided there is proper cleansing and disinfection between batches, it will be possible to allow more than one operation per day of gathering for movement to a single destination, without an undue increase in disease risk. Officials are therefore finalising changes to the collecting centre procedures to allow more than one batch per day subject to cleansing and disinfection between each batch and these should be implemented shortly.