HC Deb 11 April 2002 vol 383 cc605-6W
Mr. Levitt

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the number of trading standards officers for monitoring the washing of lorries used for the transport of farm animals. [46792]

Mr. Morley

The Department has not made any such assessment of the numbers of local authority inspectors. The level of resourcing to meet Local Authorities' duty in enforcing animal health legislation is a matter for the individual authorities.

Nevertheless, my department has in place procedures for the monitoring of cleansing and disinfection of vehicles at markets and slaughterhouses using the services of the Meat and Livestock Commission and the Meat Hygiene Service who will inform local authorities of any breaches of vehicle hiosecurity discovered.

As we are aware of the need to monitor cleansing and disinfection of vehicles, the department is about to undertake a survey of cleansing and disinfection at markets and slaughterhouses.

Mr. Gardiner

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations her Department will make at the Convention on Biodiversity in the Hague on 7 to 19 April about trade in bushmeat. [48143]

Mr. Meacher

At the previous Conference of the Parties (COP) to the Convention on Biodiversity in May 2000, the United Kingdom secured agreement for the inclusion of bushmeat in a COP Decision on forest biological diversity (Decision V/4). This requested a subsidiary body of the Convention to consider the impact of, and propose sustainable practices for, the harvesting of non-timber forest resources, including bushmeat.

The forthcoming COP in The Hague will consider the adoption of the forest biological diversity work programme. This takes forward the issue of bushmeat under the objective of "Preventing losses caused by unsustainable harvesting of timber and non-timber forest products." The United Kingdom will be pressing for action on this objective and for continuing collaboration on the issue between the Biodiversity Convention, Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) and other relevant members of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests

Mr. Luff

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the progress of trials to establish the links between badgers and bovine tuberculosis in(a) Worcestershire, (b) Herefordshire, (c) Gloucestershire and (d) Shropshire. [47592]

Mr. Morley

Three "triplets", namely A, D and I, of the badger field trial are located in parts of Worcestershire, Herefordshire and Gloucestershire. Trial operations which included surveying for badger activity and, in some trial areas, badger culling were suspended during the foot and mouth disease emergency. Surveying for badger activity recommenced in January this year. Further details of progress in all "triplets" are available on DEFRA's website on http://defraweb/animalh/tb/. No badger field trial operations are being undertaken in Shropshire.