§ Mr. GrayTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether(a) the carcasses of all deer found and (b) deer culled on the Baronsdown Deer Sanctuary will have to be disposed of at an appropriate plant under the EU Animal By-Products Regulation. [115251]
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§ Mr. MorleyThe carcases, or parts of carcases, of wild animals, including wild deer, are exempt from the scope of the Regulation unless they are thought to be diseased or are used to produce game trophies. However, the carcases from other deer would have to be disposed of via a disposal route permitted under the Regulation e.g. by rendering or incineration.
§ Mr. GrayTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) whether her Department is carrying out a welfare study of the deer at the Baronsdown Deer Sanctuary; [115254]
(2) whether the study carried out by the State Veterinary Service involved checking post mortem records of all deer carcasses found on the Baronsdown Deer Sanctuary; [115256]
(3) on what date she was given the State Veterinary Service Report on the Baronsdown Deer Sanctuary; who commissioned the Report; and what criteria of investigation were given to the State Veterinary Service to determine the health of the deer at the Baronsdown Deer Sanctuary; [115252]
(4) how long representatives of the State Veterinary Service spent at the Baronsdown Deer Sanctuary; and whether the State Veterinary Service carried out a detailed health assessment on the deer at the Baronsdown Deer Sanctuary; [115255]
(5) what samples were taken and whether post mortem examinations were carried out by the State Veterinary Service on the deer at the Baronsdown Deer Sanctuary. [115257],
§ Mr. MorleyThe Baronsdown Deer Sanctuary was inspected by officials of the State Veterinary Service on 1 April 2003. The detailed findings of the inspection are confidential to the managers of the Sanctuary.
§ Mr. GrayTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the State Veterinary Service has required that all deer carcases found or deer culled on the Baronsdown Deer Sanctuary be subject to post mortem examination by a qualified veterinary surgeon. [115258]
§ Mr. MorleyThe State Veterinary Service has not required all deer carcases found at Baronsdown Deer Sanctuary to be subject to a post mortem. The deer at Baronsdown are wild animals and it would not be usual for the State Veterinary Service to arrange post mortems on wild deer (these would not normally be examined unless they were intended for sale for human consumption). A veterinary inquiry pursuant to the provisions of article 6 of the Tuberculosis (Deer) Order 1989 would be undertaken only if the information received indicated that this was appropriate.