HC Deb 20 May 2003 vol 405 cc683-5W
Mr. Luff

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many herd breakdowns there have been in each of the last five years owing to a positive reaction to the test for bovine tuberculosis in each region of England; and how many of those herds were closed herds, with no stock brought onto the farms in question in the period since any previous tests. [110757]

Mr. Morley

The number of new herd incidents by county 1998–2002 is given in the following table:

1998 1999 2000 2001 2002
England—Total 1,224 1,332 1,416 512 2,582
Avon 42 50 53 18 98
Bedfordshire 1 1 1
Berkshire 1 2 1 1
Buckinghamshire 5 4 5 1 3
Cambridgeshire 2
Cheshire 11 5 4 27
Cleveland 1
Cornwall 213 221 228 81 451
Cumbria 8 9 4 2 33
Derbyshire 18 48 23 16 65
Devon 191 244 282 103 524
Dorset 34 40 32 19 91
Durham 2 3
East Sussex 3 8 7 3 13
Essex 3 2
Gloucestershire 207 186 227 48 285
Greater London—East 1
Greater London—South East
Greater Manchester 6 1 2
Hampshire 3 1 4 2 6
Hereford and Worcester 186 204 222 87 328
Hertford 3 1 1 2
Humberside 1 1 5 2 3
Isle of Wight 1 1
Isles of Scilly
Kent 1 1
Lancashire 19 4 5 7
Leicestershire 2 3 3 1 8
Lincolnshire 1 12 3 4
Merseyside
Norfolk 1 1
North Yorkshire 1 2 1 1 8
Northamptonshire 2 1 5 1 8
Northumberland 7 8 8 3 26
Nottinghamshire 4 5 1 4
Oxfordshire 9 5 3 1 3
Shropshire 23 17 39 11 67
Somerset 77 82 102 29 165
South Yorkshire 1 2
Staffordshire 69 63 48 51 172
Suffolk 1 1
Surrey 1 1
Tyne and Wear 1
Warwickshire 2 6 4 1 15
West Midlands 1 1 2
West Sussex 1 1 3
West Yorkshire 2
Wiltshire 65 97 86 28 147

Note:

1. In 2001, the TB testing and control programme was largely suspended due to the Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) outbreak. Since testing resumed in 2002, resources have been concentrated on herds with overdue TB tests which would have had a longer period in which to contract the disease. Also the proportion of high risk herds being tested post-FMD is greater than that prior to the outbreak. As a result, the number of new herd incidents in 2002 is not comparable to that of previous years.

2. No data are available on the number of closed herds.

Sir Michael Spicer

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many cattle were slaughtered in the last five years in(a) England and Wales and (b) Herefordshire and Worcestershire as part of the campaign against tuberculosis. [111017]

Mr. Morley

The information requested is given in the following table.

Number of cattle slaughtered under bovine tuberculosis control measures 1998–2002
Number of cattle slaughtered1
(a) England and Wales (b) Herefordshire and Worcestershire
1998 5,788 786
1999 6,708 843
2000 8,295 1,038
2001 5,888 706
2002 22,682 2,729
1TB reactors plus direct contacts.

Note:

In 2001, the TB testing and control programme was largely suspended due to the foot and mouth disease (FMD) outbreak. Since testing resumed in 2002, resources have been concentrated on herds with overdue TB tests. The herds (and individual animals within the herds) would have had a longer period in which to contract the disease. Also the proportion of high risk herds being tested post-FMD is greater than that prior to the outbreak. As a result, the numbers of reactors identified and slaughtered in 2002 is not comparable to those identified and slaughtered in previous years.

Sir Michael Spicer

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the incidence of TB in cattle for(a) England and Wales and (b) the counties of Herefordshire and Worcestershire in the last five years was. [111018]

Mr. Morley

The figures requested are given in the following table.

TB herd incidence 1998–20021
(a) TB herd incidence England and Wales (b) TB herd incidence Herefordshire and Worcestershire
1998 2.30 6.07
1999 2.55 6.40
2000 3.14 7.65
2001 4.19 9.17
2002 4.52 11.70
1Confirmed new herd incidents as a percentage of tests on unrestricted herds.
Note:
In 2001, the TB testing and control programme was largely suspended due to the foot and mouth disease (FMD) outbreak. Since testing resumed in 2002, resources have been concentrated on herds with overdue TB tests which would have had a longer period in which to contract the disease. Also the proportion of high risk herds being tested post-FMD is greater than that prior to the outbreak. As a result, herd incidence in 2002 is not comparable to that of previous years.

Forward to