§ Mark TamiTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what the period of notice provided to owners of facilities licensed to quarantine animals entering the UK before inspections are carried out is; [150790]
(2) what the minimum number per year is of inspections of facilities licensed to quarantine animals entering the UK; [150793]
(3) how many inspections of facilities licensed to quarantine animals entering the UK were carried out in each of the last five years. [150794]
§ Mr. BradshawUnder Article 9 of the Rabies (Importation of Dogs, Cats and other Mammals) Order 1974, which covers Great Britain, quarantine premises are required to be authorised by a licence issued by a Defra Minister.
In order to maintain their authorised status, quarantine premises for companion animals are required to be inspected by the State Veterinary Service. If the inspections are satisfactory, the premises are issued with an authorisation licence by Defra. The target for inspections is quarterly visits, that is four visits annually, two of which are pre-notified and two which are unannounced. Pre-notified visits are usually arranged two to four weeks in advance. There are normally, at least, three visits a year to authorised premises, and for some, there may be more than four annually.
In addition to these, when a complaint is received from the public, an unannounced visit is made to investigate the complaint.
Detailed records of inspections are kept for individual authorised quarantine premises, but are not collated centrally.
§ Mark TamiTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many and what types of diseases were detected in domestic animals in quarantine after entering the UK in each of the last five years. [150795]
§ Mr. BradshawQuarantine rules relate only to controls to prevent the introduction of rabies into this country and do not require the reporting of other diseases.
§ Mark TamiTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proposals she has to reform the quarantine requirements for domestic animals entering the UK. [150796]
§ Mr. BradshawFollowing the report in September 1998 by the Advisory Group on Quarantine (the Kennedy Report), "Quarantine and Rabies: A Reappraisal", the Government undertook a radical reform of the UK quarantine regulations. On 28 February 2000, the Pet Travel Scheme (PETS) was introduced, which allows cats and dogs from specified 535W countries, and which comply with certain conditions, to enter the UK without going into quarantine. The Scheme has now been operating successfully for four years. We have no plans for any further major changes to quarantine law.
However, between December 2000 and March 2001, MAFF undertook a consultation exercise on proposals for legislation to update the law governing quarantine premises. Agreement of new EU rules on the movement of pet animals will also require some changes to the national quarantine legislation. We therefore expect to review the detailed rules on quarantine during 2004.
§ Mark TamiTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many facilities are licensed to quarantine animals in the UK; and where they are located. [150797]
§ Mr. BradshawThe Department is responsible for authorising quarantine premises for dogs, cats and all other rabies susceptible animals. These include zoos, research establishments and quarantine kennels and catteries. There are currently 40 authorised quarantine premises for dogs, cats and pet mammals in Great Britain; 36 are in England, one in Wales and three in Scotland. A list of these quarantine premises is freely available on the Defra website.
§ Mark TamiTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the average cost was of keeping an animal in quarantine after entry to the UK in the last year. [150798]
§ Mr. BradshawQuarantine premises set charges according to the facilities provided and it is a matter of contractual arrangement between the pet owner and the quarantine premises.
§ Mark TamiTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many(a) cats and (b) dogs have died while being kept in quarantine after entering the UK in each of the last five years. [150799]
§ Mr. BradshawThe table shows the number of cats and dogs notified that died in quarantine in the last five years. It is a requirement on quarantine premises to notify all deaths in quarantine to Defra.
Number of cats died in quarantine Number of dogs died in quarantine Total number of deaths in quarantine 1999 54 25 79 2000 35 30 65 2001 16 24 40 2002 29 27 56 2003 22 11 33
§ Mark TamiTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the last recorded case was of a domestic animal showing signs of rabies while kept in quarantine after entering the UK. [150800]
§ Mr. BradshawThe last recorded case of a domestic animal showing clinical signs of rabies while in quarantine in the UK was in September 1990. This diagnosis was subsequently confirmed by laboratory tests.