§ Mr. David StewartTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the implications of the public consultation held in 2002 on the Animal Welfare Bill on progress of the Bill. [144537]
§ Mr. BradshawThe public consultation on an Animal Welfare Bill ended in April 2002 and attracted some 2,500 replies. The comments received in response to the consultation, together with the subsequent discussions we held with over 100 organisations representing a wide spectrum of views on animal welfare, have contributed greatly to the drafting of the Animal Welfare Bill. A further round of public consultation on a possible draft Bill is anticipated in spring 2004.
§ Mr. PatersonTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether there is scope within the new Animal Welfare Bill to cull out contiguous pockets of m.bovis infection in species other than badgers. [144589]
§ Mr. BradshawNo. The proposed Animal Welfare Bill will relate only to the welfare of captive and domestic animals. Wild animals in the wild are therefore outside the scope of the Bill.