Parliamentary Questions

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Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of whether perturbation in badger populations can be eliminated or substantially reduced by improved badger culling programme design and execution. [141384]

Mr. Bradshaw: No such assessment has been made.

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Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

(1) what proportion of TB lesions found in cows subject to post-mortem examination for TB were considered to be of a type which would have rendered the cattle in which they were found capable of transmitting bovine TB to another bovine animal in England in the past 10 years; [141089]

(2) where the main TB lesions have been found on those cows which have been subject to post-mortem examinations for TB by or on behalf of her Department, in England in the past 10 years; [141389]

(3) what inferences have been drawn from the sites of TB lesions found on those cows which have been subject to post-mortem examination for TB by or on behalf of her Department, in England, in the past 10 years, as to the routes of transmission. [141392]

Mr. Bradshaw: The vast majority of lesions found in reactors to the TB skin test and in cases disclosed in the slaughterhouse are found in the lymph nodes of the throat and lungs (i.e. retropharyngeal, bronchial and mediastinal nodes).

Any bovine animals infected with the causative agent for bovine tuberculosis (Mycobacterium bovis) becomes potentially infectious for other animals after a period of latency. By the time shedding begins, the animal may or may not have developed visible lesions.

The routes of transmission in field conditions are not fully understood but the distribution of the lesions strongly suggest that the respiratory and oro-pharyngeal routes are the most common.

Reactors to the tuberculin test and confirmed slaughterhouse cases are considered to be infected and infectious. The testing regime applied to the remainder of the herd after removal of the reactors takes account of this.

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Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the implications are for the UK beef and dairy industries should the UK lose its Organisation International des Epizooties TB-free status. [142000]

Mr. Bradshaw: The United Kingdom does not satisfy the requirements of the OIE or EU to be regarded as TB-free. Article 2.3.3.11. of the OIE Terrestrial Code states that international trade in beef requires the:

"presentation of an international veterinary certificate attesting that the entire consignment of meat comes from animals which have been subjected to ante-mortem and post-mortem inspections for bovine tuberculosis with favourable results".

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Thus, beef can be traded provided the Meat Hygiene Service has passed the meat as fit for human consumption.

In the case of dairy products, the OIE does not provide recommendations for the international trade in milk to protect against TB.