§ Mr. WeirTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many(a) cattle and (b) sheep were transported from (i) England to Scottish abattoirs and (ii) Scotland to English abattoirs in each of the last five years; and how many (A) cattle and (B) sheep were transported from (1) the Irish Republic to :abattoirs in Northern Ireland and (2) Northern Ireland to abattoirs in the Irish Republic in each of the last five years. [70374]
§ Mr. Morley[holding answer 17 July 2002]: The full range of statistics requested is not available. However, data from the Cattle Tracing Scheme indicates that:
- (a) 56.0 thousand cattle in 2000 and 17.3 thousand cattle in 2001, born in England or Wales and not previously on Scottish agricultural holdings, were slaughtered in Scottish abattoirs; and
- (b) 36.7 thousand cattle born in Scotland were slaughtered in English or Welsh abattoirs in 2001—these may include cattle retained on farm in England or Wales for a period of time and not represent those transported directly to an abattoir.
Control measures taken during the outbreak of foot and mouth disease last year will have impacted on animal movements. No data are available for movement of sheep between England and Scotland.
931WData provided by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Northern Ireland, show that:
(c) In 2001, 25.1 thousand cattle were imported from the Republic of Ireland for slaughter in abattoirs in Northern Ireland. Data for the last five calendar years are shown in the table:
Thousand 1997 17.0 1998 1.4 1999 7.0 2000 14.4 2001 25 1 1 Excluding the 1,200 cattle slaughtered under the Calf Processing Aid Scheme. No cattle born in Northern Ireland were slaughtered in abattoirs in the Republic of Ireland during this period because exports of live cattle were banned as part of BSE control measures.
(d) In 2001, 22.8 thousand sheep were imported from the Republic of Ireland for slaughter in abattoirs in Northern Ireland. Data for the last five calendar years are shown in the table:
Thousand 1997 108.8 1998 93.7 1999 127.2 2000 169.4 2001 22.8 Recorded sheep exports from Northern Ireland to the Republic of Ireland are available only since the outbreak of foot and mouth disease. The figures available are:
Thousand 2001 (from March) 161.1 2002 (to 6 July) 79.4