HC Deb 20 June 2002 vol 387 cc474-5W
Mr. Drew

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has had with her counterparts in New Zealand and Australia on the subject of bovine TB. [62991]

Mr. Morley

[holding answer 19 June 2002]: DEFRA, and its predecessor MAFF, has a long history of collaboration with the animal health departments in New Zealand and Australia. In 1999 the veterinary head of the endemic animal diseases and zoonoses section of the state veterinary service carried out a fact finding visit to New Zealand to investigate the control of bovine tuberculosis there, and our veterinary service has received several visits from veterinarians from New Zealand and Australia. In addition, our tuberculosis vaccine research programme is being carried out by the veterinary laboratory agency which is working in collaboration with researchers from New Zealand.

Ian Lucas

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent research her Department has undertaken into the effect of production announcers given to cattle on the development of bovine tuberculosis. [62813]

Mr. Morley

I believe the hon. Member is referring to production enhancers, such as anabolic steroid growth promoters and bovine somatatrophin lactation enhancer, rather than production announcers. As these products are not licensed for use in cattle in the UK, DEFRA has not carried out research into the effects that they might have on the development of bovine tuberculosis.

Mr. Peter Duncan

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many confirmed cases of bovine TB have been recorded in(a) Scotland and (b) Dumfries and Galloway region in each of the last 12 months. [62412]

Mr. Morley

[holding answer 17 June 2002]: The information requested is not available in the format requested, in that county figures are not available for 2002. In 2001 there was one herd affected by a new confirmed incident of bovine TB in Scotland. There were none in Dumfriesshire. Raw data for January to April 2002 indicate seven confirmed new TB incidents in Scotland.