§ Mr. PatersonTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the most significant causes of mortality in the badger population in the UK are. [158019]
§ Mr. BradshawPost-weaning starvation accounts for 50–70 per cent. of cub deaths per year, and is the single biggest natural mortality factor among British badgers. Starvation, especially during exceptionally dry years, may also account for a significant proportion of the adult population. Over half of all deaths in the Central Science Laboratory's Woodchester Park study area are attributable to collisions with motor vehicles, and it has been estimated that at least 37,500 badgers, out of an estimated British population of about 350,000, are killed in road traffic accidents each year. Motor vehicles, therefore, are probably the greatest unnatural cause of badger mortality.
§ Mr. PatersonTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to her answer of 8 December fff2003,Official Report, column 216W, on badgers, whether gassing of badger setts is permitted in the Republic of Ireland. [158086]
§ Mr. BradshawGassing is not permitted in the Republic of Ireland.
§ Mr. PatersonTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment. Food and Rural Affairs what numerical targets for the reduction in incidence of TB in cattle have been set for the next 10 years. [157955]
§ Mr. BradshawThis is a subject of our present consultation "Preparing for a new GB Strategy on Bovine Tuberculosis".
§ Mr. PatersonTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs under what circumstances the Government would withdraw(a) wholly and (b) partly from intervention in the control of bovine TB. [157960]
§ Mr. BradshawOur thoughts on the rationale for Government intervention on the Control of bovine TB are set out in section 4.4 of the consultation document "Preparing for a new GB strategy on bovine tuberculosis" published on 9 February 2004.
We are currently seeking the views of interested parties. Question 4 (page 28) specifically asks for views on the extent of Government intervention in the control of bovine TB.
§ Mr. PatersonTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the requirement for public support for510W wildlife management schemes in order to reduce the incidence of TB in cattle; and what measures she has considered in order to gain such support. [158012]
§ Mr. BradshawNo such assessment is currently being made.
§ Mr. PatersonTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) at what level TB in badgers creates a significant risk to public health through(a) direct and (b) indirect transmission; [158014]
(2) at what level the incidence of TB in badgers starts to pose a significant risk to human health through indirect transmission via companion animals. [159073]
§ Mr. BradshawThe risk of direct transmission of bovine tuberculosis from badgers to humans is negligible. However, increased prevalence of TB in badgers would increase the potential for transmission ofMycobacterium bovis(the causative organism for bovine TB) to staff of Defra and its executive agencies who handle badger carcases. Full training is given to staff to minimise this risk.
The potential risk of indirect transmission from badger to humans through cattle is also low. This is because of the measures already in place including widespread pasteurisation of milk and regular TB testing of cattle herds.
There is no significant risk of companion animals contracting the disease from badgers. There are sporadic cases of cats contracting the disease in Great Britain. Most of these are thought to result from drinking unpasteurised milk, although there is anecdotal evidence of cats contracting the disease from wildlife.
§ Mr. PatersonTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what her definition is of a sustainable control policy for bovine TB; [158493]
(2) what factors constitute sustainability in the context of a 10-year vision for bovine TB[157950]
§ Mr. BradshawA sustainable control policy for bovine TB could be defined as one that takes into account and seeks to balance economic, social, environmental and public health considerations.
How the interests of wider society and the principles of sustainability should be recognised in a 10-year vision for bovine TB is a subject of the current consultation on "Preparing for a new GB strategy on bovine tuberculosis".
§ Mr. PatersonTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what information she holds on the existence in countries other than the United Kingdom of suitable accommodation for testing badgers in pursuit of development of a vaccine. [158632]
§ Mr. BradshawSuch facilities exist in the Republic of Ireland to support the Irish badger TB vaccine programme. Defra's Veterinary Laboratories Agency has active research links with staff at the facility.
§ Mr. PatersonTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress is being made in the application of variable number 511W tandem repeats in subdividing known TB spoligotypes; and what the epidemiological significance of this work is. [158662]
§ Mr. Bradshaw"M. bovis" isolates are now being typed by both spoligotyping and variable number tandem repeat techniques. The latter technique has successfully subdivided the most prevalent spoligotype in GB into at least 10 smaller groups. However, it has not divided other spoligotypes to such an extent. This further degree of differentiation, especially when it is found that there is geographical clustering of subgroups, will be useful in disease control by helping elucidate likely sources of infection.
§ Mr. PatersonTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what assessment she has made of the badger culling study conducted in the Republic of Ireland; [158663]
(2) what information with relevance to determining policy options for the control of cattle TB in the UK she has obtained from the Republic of Ireland in relation to badger control trials; [159054]
(3) when she expects the results of the badger culling study conducted in the Republic of Ireland to be published. [159131]
§ Mr. BradshawThe results from the Irish badger culling study have not yet been published, although I understand they are expected shortly. We will look closely at the results once published to establish what we can learn and apply to the situation in Great Britain.
§ Mr. PatersonTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the current state of progress of the TB99 survey is; and when she expects to publish results. [158665]
§ Mr. BradshawAn analysis of the pre-Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) outbreak dataset is being finalised. An analysis of the 2002 dataset is on-going. Data from 2003 is still being collected (primarily outstanding control reports) and will be subject to analysis later in 2004. 2004 data is now being collected, concentrating on only three triplets within the Randomised Badger Culling Trial. A shorter, more focused epidemiological questionnaire is being prepared for use from 2005. The next report of the Independent Scientific group on Cattle TB will include some results from the analysis of the pre-FMD data and, possibly, the 2002 data.
§ Mr. PatersonTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the average cost of(a) processing a successful Section 10 application under the Protection of Badgers Act 1992 and (b) supervising its execution was in the last period for which figures are available. [158666]
§ Mr. BradshawDefra staff who process and supervise licences record time to broad work areas. All time spent in connection with the Protection of Badgers Act 1992 by these staff is recorded under a single heading and the time input, which is required to calculate the costs you requested, cannot be accurately separated into processing and supervisory time. Furthermore, no distinction is made between time spent processing successful and unsuccessful applications.
512WDuring the financial year 2002–03 the Wildlife Management Team, who carry out the tasks specified in your questions (a) and (b), spent a total of 11.5 staff years on work connected with the Protection of Badgers Act 1992. During this period the team determined 852 licence applications. The total staff costs, including travel and subsistence associated with this work were £334,050.
§ Mr. PatersonTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the size of the infective dose of M. bovis to cattle affects the(a) incubation period and (b) the severity of the disease. [158674]
§ Mr. BradshawExperimental challenge work indicates that the size of M. bovis challenge affects the speed of disease development and the extent of pathology. It is likely that a similar relationship exists in natural infections.
§ Mr. PatersonTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what protocol has been adopted for the post mortem examination of reactor cattle for the purpose of detecting TB lesions. [158677]
§ Mr. BradshawPost mortem examination (PME) of reactor cattle is carried out in most cases by the Meat Hygiene Service on behalf of Defra and the Devolved Administrations. Occasionally, examinations are conducted by Veterinary Officers of the State Veterinary Service, depending on locally agreed arrangements.
In any case, the protocols for PME of cattle in which TB is suspected are set out in Schedule 10, Part VIII of the Fresh Meat (Hygiene and Inspection) Regulations 1995 (as amended).
Additionally, chapters 4 (Section 8) and 14 (Section F) of the Meat Hygiene Service Operations Manual contain instructions on sampling and reporting requirements.
§ Mr. PatersonTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the cost to her Department of the pre- and post-movement testing regime will be. [158679]
§ Mr. BradshawThe proposal as set out in the consultation document 'Preparing for a new GB strategy on bovine TB' is for pre-movement testing of cattle moving from one and two year testing herds to other herds. The resource implications of this proposal will be estimated as part of the consultation process which will involve discussions with veterinary and farming interests and Local Government.
§ Mr. PatersonTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what provision she has made for farmers who wish to undertake pre-and post-movement testing who are unable to secure the services of a veterinary surgeon for that purpose within the time frame required. [158680]
513W
§ Mr. BradshawIt is too early in the consultation process to be able to determine whether or not this will be a problem. Detailed discussions will be held with the veterinary profession on resources.
§ Mr. PatersonTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her policy is on the use of stop snares. [158685]
§ Mr. BradshawThe Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 protects all wild birds and certain animals from killing and taking. Under Section 11 of the 1981 Act free running snares are permissible provided that the snare is not placed in such a way to allow injury to any animal listed on Schedule 6 of the 1981 Act, which includes badgers. Section 11(3) makes it an offence to set in position, or knowingly cause or permit to set in position, any snare which is of such a nature and so placed as to be calculated to cause bodily injury to any wild animal. The snare must also be inspected at least once every 24 hours, so as to avoid any animal held in the snare suffering unnecessarily through starvation or dehydration. All non-target species must be released from the snare.
Stop snares are not prohibited by the 1981 Act.
§ Mr. PatersonTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether it is necessary to ensure that potential immigrant populations are free from TB infection before culling TB-infected badgers within a specific locality if such a cull is to have epidemiological value. [158715]
§ Mr. BradshawSuch an approach would be of limited value as M. bovis is endemic in British badgers. It would also be impractical, given the limitations of current live diagnostic tests, and the likelihood that all relevant neighbouring badgers could not be tested.