§ Miss McIntoshTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what agricultural shows licences farmers need to apply for; and what are the regulations governing animals at such shows. [33934]
§ Mr. Morley[holding answer 6 February 2002]: Agricultural shows are very important to rural communities and we hope that they will be able to go ahead later this year subject to biosecurity conditions. On 5 February, my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Lord Whitty of Camberwell announced details of the rules on animal movements that will operate on an interim basis during 2002. Further information on these new arrangements, including outline rules for movements to and from shows, have been made available in the Library of the House and posted on the DEFRA website at www.defraweb/footandmouth/movements/mainindex.htm. We hope to publish further details specifically on the conditions that show organisers will need to meet by the end of the month.
§ Mr. Keith SimpsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many agricultural shows were cancelled as a consequence of the outbreak of foot and mouth; and how many received financial compensation. [34107]
§ Mr. Morley[holding answer 7 February 2002]: The Department does not hold this information but according to the Association of Agricultural and Show Organisations, in excess of 309 shows are normally held each year and that last year, the vast majority of these were cancelled because of foot and mouth disease.
There is no statutory compensation for the cancellation of a show due to foot and mouth restrictions.