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30 Jan 2004 : Column 533W—continued

ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Animal Pathogens

Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the relationship is between risk of spread of animal pathogens from a laboratory and the infectivity of the organism; and which pathogens are classified as group 2. [150896]

Mr. Bradshaw: The risk of a particular organism escaping from a laboratory is not directly affected by its infectivity. Defra classifies animal pathogens in different groups for containment purposes, according to the risk they pose to the health of farmed livestock and poultry. The assessment of risk takes account of a number of factors, including the infectivity of the pathogen and the nature and seriousness of the disease it causes. The higher the level of risk posed by an animal pathogen, the higher the level of laboratory containment required for its safe handling. The following animal pathogens are currently classified as Defra group 2 pathogens:


































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Animal Quarantine

Mark Tami: To 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]

Mr. Bradshaw: Under 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 Tami: To 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. Bradshaw: Quarantine rules relate only to controls to prevent the introduction of rabies into this country and do not require the reporting of other diseases.

Mark Tami: To 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. Bradshaw: Following 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

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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 Tami: To 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. Bradshaw: The 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 Tami: To 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. Bradshaw: Quarantine 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 Tami: To 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. Bradshaw: The 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 quarantineNumber of dogs died in quarantineTotal number of deaths in quarantine
1999542579
2000353065
2001162440
2002292756
2003221133

Mark Tami: To 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. Bradshaw: The 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.

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Badgers

Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what information she has collated on the estimated badger population of mainland continental Europe. [150897]

Mr. Bradshaw: The most recent assessment of the status of the badger (Meles meles) in Europe was published in 1997 1 .

The quality of information available from each country varied considerably and as a result it was not possible to accurately estimate the Continent's total badger population. In an earlier publication 2 , the same authors estimated that the European badger population was at least 1,220,000. At that time the British population was thought to be 250,000, which is approximately 20 per cent. of all European badgers.



Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what account is taken of routine sightings of badgers during daylight hours in calculating population size and density. [150945]

Mr. Bradshaw: Routine, or incidental, sightings are rarely suitable for estimating animal abundance, although such sightings can be useful for establishing the presence of a species in a locality—especially in the case of rare animals.

Badger sightings have been used to estimate densities, but only as part of planned surveys following a scientifically robust methodology (Heydon, M. J., Reynolds, J. C. and Short, M. J. (2000); Journal of Zoology; 251, 253–264). Furthermore, sighting-based surveys of badgers are carried out at night rather than during daylight hours, as this is when badgers are most likely to be observed above ground.

By far the most widely used method for estimating badger density is based on signs rather than sightings of badgers. During the national surveys carried out during the 1980s and 1990s badger numbers were extrapolated from the density of setts (taking account of their size and level of activity) and the average size of badger social groups.

Full details of the sett surveying methodology used in the last national badger survey are given in: "Changes in the British badger population, 1988 to 1997" by G. Wilson, S. Harris and G. McLaren (1997), published by the People's Trust for Endangered Species.

Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the expected date is of completion of the project designed to assess the impact of removing badgers from the ecosystem; what the budgeted cost of the project is; from which institution the project is being managed; and who the lead scientist is. [150474]

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Mr. Bradshaw: The expected date for completion of the project is the end of March 2005. The budgeted overall cost of the project is £1.48 million. The project is being managed by the head of the team at the Woodchester Park site of the Central Science Laboratory.

Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will seek from the European Commission permission to compensate farmers who have suffered consequential losses as a result of the suspension of badger culling in reactive areas in the randomised badger culling trials. [150496]

Mr. Bradshaw: I do not plan to seek permission from the European Commission to pay compensation for consequential losses due the cessation of culling in reactive areas of the randomised badger culling trial. The decision to suspend the reactive culling element of the trial was taken because the preliminary results indicated that this action would reduce the risk of TB breakdowns.

Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will conduct investigations into whether perturbation in badger populations can be eliminated or substantially reduced by improved culling programme design and execution. [150499]

Mr. Bradshaw: Defra has funded research into perturbation of badger populations subject to culling. The results of the most recent work are yet to be published.

Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she expects to publish data on the prevalence of TB in badgers in areas of high incidence in cattle herds. [150500]

Mr. Bradshaw: Details of the incidence of TB in badgers captured during operations of the Randomised Badger Culling Trial will be published once the trial is finished, which is scheduled to be mid-2006.

These data will give an indication of the prevalence of TB in the badger population in trial areas; one of the criteria for the selection of these areas was that there was a high level of incidence of TB in cattle herds.

Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs based on the findings from post mortem examinations of badgers and other data, what her best estimate is of the number of TB-infected badgers existing in England and Wales; and what the best estimate was for that figure in 1994. [150507]

Mr. Bradshaw: It is not possible to give an accurate figure for the number of TB-infected badgers existing in England and Wales because of the difficulty of estimating the size of the badger population and the reliability of the prevalence data available.

The prevalence of TB in MAFF-taken badgers collected in England and Wales each year from 1975 to 1996 is given in Appendix 10 of the Krebs Report (PB 3423).

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The prevalence of TB in Road Traffic Accident badgers collected in England and Wales each year from 1972 to 1996 is given in Appendix 11 of the Krebs Report (PB 3423).

A copy of the Krebs Report is available in the Library of the House.

Data on the incidence of TB in badgers collected under the present Road Traffic Accident survey and the Randomised Badger Culling Trial should yield more accurate information, but these data will remain confidential until the trial is finished, which is scheduled to be mid-2006.

Mr. Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what level of TB in badgers is sufficient for the disease to be considered as epidemic in the population; and how in this context the term endemic differs from the term epidemic. [150508]

Mr. Bradshaw: Bovine TB is endemic in badgers in the UK; i.e. it is constantly present in badgers within this geographical area. An epidemic occurs where the occurrence of an infection increases clearly beyond normal expectancy. There is currently no evidence to suggest that levels of bovine TB in badgers have increased substantially in recent years.

Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what factors increase the susceptibility of (a) badgers and (b) cattle to disease following exposure to M. bovis bacilli. [150513]

Mr. Bradshaw: Factors that increase the susceptibility of cattle to disease following exposure to M. bovis include general health, nutritional status and immunological capability. It is likely that similar factors are important in determining the susceptibility of badgers although no studies have been carried out on this particular subject.

Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many badger setts that have been sticked have subsequently been found to have been recolonised; and what action is taken in the event that such recolonisation is observed. [150544]

Mr. Bradshaw: Sticking of a Randomised Badger Culling Trial (RBCT) sett is a method used to indicate whether the sett is in active use. The team carrying out the post-cull survey will note the sign and use this information to inform their report. It may be difficult to identify whether a sett has been recolonised or whether there are badgers remaining from the original colony which were not captured during the trapping operation.

RBCT design requires culling operations to be repeated annually in Proactive areas to maintain badger numbers as low as possible. During such operations, traps are placed on active setts on premises consenting to culling and additionally at locations indicating the movement of badgers from any adjoining non-consent land.

Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she expects the Oxford University research on badger perturbation being carried out on behalf of her Department to be

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completed; when the report will be made available; who the lead scientist is; what the protocols are for this work; and what the budgeted cost is. [150546]

Mr. Bradshaw: It is expected that the Oxford University research on badger perturbation being carried out on behalf of the Department will be completed at the end of March 2004. It is likely that the final report will be available later this year. It is managed by a member of the university's Zoology Department. The project's protocol investigates whether the spatial and temporal scale of the perturbation processes, the pattern and speed of recolonisation and the relief of density-dependent inhibitions on reproduction and survival observed in the study area may be generalised. The budgeted overall cost for the project is £1.25 million.

Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what statutory measures exist for the licensing and authorisation of badger translocations; under what conditions licences or authorisations are issued; which Department is responsible for implementing their provisions; and what the nature and level of supervisions are over persons licensed or otherwise authorised to carry out translocations. [150581]

Mr. Bradshaw: I refer the hon. Member to the answers given on 6 January 2004, Official Report, column 249W, and 20 January 2004, Official Report, column 1186W.

The specific conditions imposed on any licence are tailored to the particular circumstances of the operation to be undertaken.

Licences are issued by the appropriate statutory conservation agency or agricultural department (English Nature and Defra, respectively, in England) depending on the purpose of the proposed translocation. The licensing body is responsible for specifying the conditions and licensee is responsible for complying with them.

All licensed translocations are closely supervised by the issuing authority and by wildlife advisers with experience in licensed badger operations from the Department's National Wildlife Management Team.

Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to her answer of 8 December 2003, Official Report, columns 214–15W, on bovine TB, and 15 December 2003, Official Report, column 631W, on badgers, what plans she has to revise guidelines to farmers on the height, positioning and protection of feed and water troughs following the findings of the Central Veterinary Laboratory on the climbing capabilities of badgers. [150594]

Mr. Bradshaw: Recent research has demonstrated that in some circumstances badgers are capable of reaching cattle feed troughs set at least 80 cm above the ground.

There are no plans to change the existing height guidelines, as trough heights must be set so that the cattle intended to feed from them can still reach the contents. However, investigation into trough design to deter access by badgers is being carried out.

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Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether persons wishing or authorised to undertake the relocation of badgers are required (a) to carry out tests on those animals and (b) to await the results of any such tests before setting them free in their new locations. [150609]

Mr. Bradshaw: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 20 January 2004, Official Report, column 1186W. To briefly reiterate, all badgers relocated under the authority of a licence are tested three times for bovine tuberculosis and are only released if all three tests are negative. A similar approach is also applied to the relocation of rehabilitated badgers by animal hospitals, only in this case testing guidelines are not mandatory, but are set down in a voluntary code of practice.

Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the conclusions were of Professor Solly Zuckerman's 1988 report to the Ministry of Agriculture; and what his recommendations were for future strategy to protect (a) badgers and (b) cattle. [150713]

Mr. Bradshaw: A copy of Professor Zuckerman's 1980 report, in which he describes in detail his conclusions and recommendations, is available in the House of Commons Library.

Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment has been made of the effects of the use of more discrete methods of badger culling on culling results. [150893]

Mr. Bradshaw: It is not possible to draw an accurate comparison between different methods of culling badgers because there are no reliable methods of estimating badger populations either before or after culling.

Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what percentage cull of badgers was originally proposed for the Krebs trials; how the culling was to be achieved; and in what ways the protocol was amended in the final version. [150895]

Mr. Bradshaw: The Krebs report advised that in reactive areas all badgers, including lactating sows, should be removed from all social groups with territories including the breakdown farm. In the proactive areas there should be total removal of complete badger social groups from localised areas at high risk of breakdown, before herd breakdowns occurred. It also recommended that the use of stop-snaring should be explored as an alternative to trapping, and that an expert group should be established to oversee the detailed experimental design and operation of the trial.

The group which was established, the Independent Scientific Group on Cattle TB, considered the possible use of snaring. It decided against this method of capture in favour of cage trapping and recorded the rationale for doing so in its first report (PB3881). That report also records its reasons for introducing a closed season for three months each year, when no trapping takes place.

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Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether any behavioural patterns have been observed in badgers showing signs of TB which predispose them to closer contact with cattle. [150944]

Mr. Bradshaw: The Central Science Laboratory has just finished a research project at Woodchester Park to investigate the behavioural consequences of bovine TB infection in badgers. The findings of this study will be published in the scientific press shortly.

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