§ Mr. DrewTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on new measures in place to deal with disease breakdown following foot and mouth disease. [139473]
885W
§ Mr. BradshawA new EU directive on measures to control foot and mouth disease was adopted in Agriculture Council on 29 September 2003 and is due to be transposed into domestic legislation by 30 June 2004.
Under the terms of this directive, the slaughter of infected animals and known "dangerous contacts" remains the principal tool in tackling an FMD outbreak. The main area of change in the new directive is the emphasis it places on emergency vaccination, which has now moved to the forefront of disease control strategies and has to be considered immediately the first case of FMD is confirmed.
The policies and operational arrangements that would be implemented in an outbreak are captured in the Foot and Mouth Disease Contingency Plan which is reviewed, updated and laid before Parliament annually.