§ Mr. DrewTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what risk assessment has been undertaken on the disposal of fallen stock after the Animal By-products Regulation comes into effect; [103517]
(2) what plans she has to meet all parties involved in the disposal of fallen stock before the ban on farm burial comes into force; [103516]
(3) what estimate she has made of the level of fallen stock which will need to be collected annually after the introduction of the Animal By-products Regulation. [103518]
§ Mr. MorleyNo formal risk assessment has been undertaken on the disposal of fallen stock after the Animal By-products Regulation comes into effect.
However, animal by-products legislation already controls the collection, storage and transportation of animal by-products, including fallen stock, it also requires records to be kept of any consignment of animal by-products to assist in the auditing and traceability of this material.
The Department regulates outlets which deal with fallen stock, such as knackers yards, hunt kennels, rendering and incineration plants. Officials are, therefore, involved in regular discussions with those industries and other interested parties. Since April 2002, we have been involved in discussions with livestock and disposal industry stakeholders over future arrangements and funding options for disposal of fallen stock.
Although progress has been made on operation of a National Scheme we have not been able to reach an agreement on funding. Nevertheless, we are continuing our dialogue with the industry and plan to write shortly to individual farmers about the new rules.
The industry estimate that the following will need to be collected annually:
- 1,316,000 adult animal carcasses (bovine, ovine, swine and equine)
- 2,262,000 immature animal carcasses (bovine, ovine, swine and equine)
- 36,000,000 poultry carcasses (avians)
In arriving at this figure, assumptions have been made about mortality rates for adult and immature animals and their average weight.