Parliamentary Questions

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Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her Department's statutory responsibilities are under the Animal Health Act 1981 in respect of the elimination of contiguous reservoirs of disease which have zoonotic and animal health implications. [150577]

Mr. Bradshaw: Under section 29 of the Animal Health Act 1981, the Secretary of State may, with a view to reducing the risk to human health of any disease of, or organism carried in, animals, make an Order designating any such disease or organism which, in her opinion, constitutes such a risk.

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Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the project designed to assess the impact of removing badgers from the ecosystem will also take into account (a) the impact of allowing unrestrained growth of the badger population and (b) the impact of controlled reductions in badger populations to various levels. [150473]

Mr. Bradshaw: Even where culling does not take place the local badger population is not undergoing 'unrestrained growth' as it will be subject to limits imposed by natural and human phenomena. The project designed to assess the impact of removing badgers from the ecosystem will assess the impact on other wildlife of

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controlled reductions in badger populations to various levels, in comparison with areas where badgers are not culled.

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Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether she reconciled the inability to estimate the effect of alternative capture methods of badgers which would remove 100 per cent. of the population with the findings during the Thornbury trial. [150490]

Mr. Bradshaw: The Krebs Report referred to the difficulty of assessing the effect of different control strategies on the prevalence of TB in badgers and on herd breakdowns. The report says

"None of the control strategies have been assessed in a properly designed experiment to establish their efficacy." (Krebs Report pages 82–83).

A comparison of reactive culling areas of the Randomised Badger Culling trial (RBCT) and the Thornbury clearance area is not valid. Although indicative of the effect on cattle TB incidence that might be expected if a total badger clearance were achieved, the Thornbury badger removal was performed without contemporary control areas. This limits its usefulness as a basis for comparison with the impact of lesser percentage badger clearances achieved by other methods, since any change in the incidence of TB in cattle subsequent to culling could have resulted in whole or in part from some other cause.

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Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 8 December 2003, Official Report, column 211W, what conclusions she draws from the data on the location of TB lesions in badgers as to the main route of infection; and whether it is possible to draw similar conclusions in respect of the data available on the location of TB lesions in cattle. [150491]

Mr. Bradshaw: Infection with Mycobacterium bovis most often causes lesions in the respiratory tract and the associated lymph nodes, which suggests that the most common route of infection in badgers and cattle is by inhalation, or ingestion followed by inhalation. In badgers infection by inoculation through bite wounds also a relatively frequent route of infection.

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Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the scientific rationale was for the choice of the different distance parameters adopted for the culling zones of badgers in (a) the Gassing Strategy and (b) the Clean Ring Strategy, of the Krebs trials. [150509]

Mr. Bradshaw: For the gassing strategy: where TB infection was found in badgers, an area of up to one kilometre from the farm boundary was surveyed, to include the full territories of badgers on the infected farm. Social groupings were identified and all infected social groups, and groups in contact with them, were gassed. The area gassed was determined by the location of infected farms, infected badgers, sett groupings and natural boundaries. (Krebs Report 1997, page 142)

For the Clean Ring strategy: infected social groups, and those contiguous with them were culled. Culling, of social groups that were contiguous to groups found to be infected, continued until a clean ring of social groups

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containing no infected animals was found and removed, or else there were no badgers found. (Krebs Report page 143)

The use of broadly circular treatment areas of 100 km2 for the Randomised Badger Culling Trial is explained on pages 8–9 of the first report of the Independent Scientific Group on Cattle TB and is based on the suggested use of 10km by 10km squares in the Krebs Report, pages 90–93.

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Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what distances can be travelled by adult badgers from their setts to their food sources; and what the radii were of the Krebs (a) reactive and (b) proactive areas. [150512]

Mr. Bradshaw: Adult badgers can travel between a few metres and a few kilometres from their setts to their food sources dependent on the quality of the habitat. None of the Krebs reactive and proactive areas are completely circular, so no exact radii can be evaluated. Trial areas are initially described using a 5.64 km radius circle but this shape is distorted by natural features and survey data to end up with areas of around 100 sq km. However, details of the total surface areas of the Krebs reactive and proactive areas are available on the Defra Internet site.

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Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to her answer of 8 December 2003, Official Report, column 211W, on badgers, what proportion of badgers culled as part of TB control strategies conducted during 1979–97 tested positive for M. bovis; and what the percentage was in (a) 1975–82, (b) 1982–88 and (c) 1988–97. [150547]

Mr Bradshaw: The following table gives these data:

Period 1979–97 1975–82 1982–88 1988–97
Badgers culled 20,252 2,661 6,367 13,401
Badgers positive for M. bovis 3,985 283 966 3,118
Percentage 20.1 10.7 15.2 24.0

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Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to her answer of 8 December 2003, Official Report, column 212W, what inferences can be drawn from the preponderance of TB lesions found in badgers on post mortem examination arising in the lymphatic nodes of head and chest as to (a) the portal of infection, (b) the possible routes of infection and (c) the risk presented by those badgers to other animals. [150564]

Mr. Bradshaw: Infection with Mycobacterium bovis frequently causes lesions in the respiratory tract and the associated lymph nodes of badgers, which suggests that a common route of infection is by inhalation, or ingestion followed by inhalation. Where there is infection of the respiratory tract, it is probable that there are phases of M. bovis excretion of infected saliva via the respiratory tract, which may contaminate pasture or animal feed containers.

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Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether material contaminated with the M. bovis bacilli deposited on grassland by badgers and subsequently entrained in hay

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used for the feeding of cattle is considered to present a significant risk of infection to (a) cattle, (b) farmers and (c) other persons who may handle this material. [150570]

Mr. Bradshaw: As the organism Mycobacterium bovis prefers damp mild conditions it is unlikely to survive the hay making process. We consider that there is no significant risk of infection to cattle, farmers or other persons who may handle hay.

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Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in how many Krebs reactive areas badger culling was commenced in May 2003; how many farms were involved in these areas; how many of those farms had had (a) one and (b) two 60-day tests after the clearance operations; and what the results were of those tests. [150579]

Mr. Bradshaw: The first reactive operation in Triplet I commenced in May 2003. Reactive operations in Triplets A, B and C had commenced prior to May 2003 and further operations occurred during May 2003 in these Triplets.

The number of infected cattle herds triggering reactive culling operations in May 2003 in Triplets I, A, B and C totalled 20. The number and testing details of premises over which these operations took place cannot be provided at proportionate cost.

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Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what methods other than gassing are available for the culling of badgers; and what statutory restrictions apply to those alternatives. [150585]

Mr. Bradshaw: Gassing is not a legal method of killing badgers.

The badger is a fully protected species. It is an offence to kill (or attempt to kill) a badger by any method (Protection of Badgers Act 1992 s.1(1)).

Badgers are also listed under Schedule 6 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, which makes it a specific offence to poison badgers (including by gassing) (s.11(2)(a)).

A person guilty of these offences is liable on summary conviction to imprisonment for up to six months and/or a fine of up to £5,000.

Where killing is carried out under a licence issued by Defra, the technique employed will depend on the particular circumstances of the individual case, but will normally involve cage trapping and humane dispatch by shooting.

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Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what changes there were in the protocol for badger trapping in the period 1975 to 1997; and what effect they had on the success rate of trapping operations. [150590]

Mr. Bradshaw: The key operational features of badger control strategies from 1975 to 1996 are set out in Appendix 3 to the Krebs Report. We have no validated data on the success rate of the various culling strategies.

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Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to her answer of 8 December 2003, Official Report, column 212W, on badgers, what her best estimate is of the typical kill rates of badgers during the Krebs culling programmes; what the worst rates were; and what the impact was of low kill rates on the (a) conduct and (b) outcome of the trials. [150592]

Mr. Bradshaw: There is no precise way of measuring badger populations pre- and post-culling operations and estimates are made in the Randomised Badger Culling Trial based on field signs at a sample number of setts. Culling success is affected by a range of factors including levels of access, anti-trial activity and the time of the year, and where proactive culling in a triplet has been carried out at a sub-optimal time the next cull, where possible, is planned for more optimal periods.

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Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what precautions can be taken by farmers to guarantee freedom from TB in cattle bought into herds; and to what extent she advises that they can rely on a test or other certification attesting to freedom from TB infection. [150495]

Mr. Bradshaw: There can be no guarantee of remaining free of bovine TB. However farmers are encouraged to take all practical disease prevention measures to reduce the risk of disease introduction when bringing in new stock, including arranging a tuberculin test of purchased cattle before they are brought into to the resident herd.
The Department provides advice in the form of a freely available booklet "TB in Cattle—Reducing the Risk". A concise list of disease prevention measures which was developed with livestock industry representatives and vets, was sent to all livestock farmers in 2002; it can be found on the Defra website.

The comparative tuberculin skin test is used to certify that cattle herds are free from bovine tuberculosis, the comparative skin test at the standard interpretation, provides sensitivity in the range 68 per cent. to 95 per cent. and specificity in the range in the range 96 per cent. to 99 per cent.

Clearly a negative test result on individual animals brought into a herd will not guarantee their freedom from disease, although it will substantially reduce the risk. A recent clear herd test result for the herd of origin will reduce the risk that imported animals have been exposed to infection still further.

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Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when the consultation on the new TB strategy will commence; and whether she expects that the detailed results and conclusions from the Krebs trials will be available prior to that consultation. [150497]

Mr. Bradshaw: We aim to publish a consultation document "Preparing for a new GB Strategy on bovine tuberculosis" in February. The document will represent the outcome of the first stage of the review announced by the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs at last year's NFU Annual General

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Meeting. The consultation document will contain proposals for action in the short term including measures to prevent the geographical spread of the disease.

The Independent Scientific Group on cattle TB (ISG) anticipates that the Randomised Badger Culling Trial (or the 'Krebs Trial') operations will be complete by 2006. The ISG will report to Ministers thereafter.

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Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what has been the total expenditure by her Department on investigating the pathogenesis and epidemiology of Bovine TB since 1997; and what the planned expenditure is over the next five years. [150498]

Mr. Bradshaw: Total expenditure since 1997 on research projects investigating the pathogenesis and epidemiology of Bovine TB is £17.3 million. Research already commissioned for 2004–5 onwards totals £5.6 million and consultations for research requirements to start from the financial year 05–06 have been initiated. Epidemiology and pathogenesis will continue to be important parts of the bovine TB research programme.

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Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to compensate herd owners for uninsurable losses arising from the event of a TB herd breakdown. [150501]

Mr. Bradshaw: The Government currently pays compensation to farmers for the market value of all cattle slaughtered under the TB control programme. There are no plans to compensate for consequential losses.

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Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what inference she has drawn from the number of slaughterhouse cases of bovine TB as to the efficacy of the TB surveillance programme. [150503]

Mr. Bradshaw: The examination of carcases in the slaughterhouse complements surveillance through the periodic testing of cattle. Identification of infected carcases in slaughterhouses does not necessarily reflect a failure of the tuberculin test to detect the infection: given that infected cattle can develop grossly visible lesions within a relatively short time after infection with Mycobacterium bovis, it would be expected that some animals will become infected and be presented for slaughter in the intervals between herd tests, which can last up to four years. In recent years, the proportion of TB incidents that are detected in the slaughterhouse is lower in parishes where herds are tested more frequently, in other words frequent tuberculin testing reduces the risk that diseased cattle are disclosed during slaughterhouse inspection.

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Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what action is taken in respect of slaughterhouse cases of bovine TB to trace the animals back to the farm of origin; what proportion of these cases were traced back to source in the last five years; and how many herds identified as a result of such action were subsequently confirmed as TB breakdowns. [150504]

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Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether she has identified a statistically significant correlation between the distribution of TB infection in badgers and the distribution of TB in cattle. [150505]

Mr. Bradshaw: The report from the Independent Scientific Review Group, chaired by Sir John Krebs, which reported in 1997, concluded that there was "strong evidence for an association between TB in cattle and badgers". This relationship will be investigated further using data collected in the Randomised Badger Culling Trial, which is currently underway.

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Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs where slaughterhouse cases of bovine TB are identified as having originated in animals which have transited through livestock markets immediately prior to despatch for slaughter; what measures are taken in those markets to contain the spread of disease; and what action is taken to trace possible contact animals consequently confirmed as TB breakdowns. [150506]

Mr. Bradshaw: The transmission of the causative organism, Mycobacterium bovis, between cattle requires in most cases for the animals to be in close proximity with each other. While there is a risk that the organism could be transmitted between cattle at a market, conditions are such that this is a relatively low risk. Thus tracings of cattle that have come into contact with infected animals do not take into account contacts that take place in markets.

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Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what herd TB breakdowns have been recorded in the last 10 years in areas (a) where there have been no badgers detected and (b) following complete clearance of badgers. [150511]

Mr. Bradshaw: There is insufficient reliable data on the extent and varying density of the badger population of Great Britain to identify, with any certainty, areas where there is an absence of badgers. No area, in the last 10 years, has been completely cleared of badgers.

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Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what causation models, or combinations thereof, are being used by her Department to determine the cause of bovine TB and

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mechanisms of transmission; what the specific criteria are which make up the models; and which criteria remain to be satisfied before a firm association can be made between the presence of infection in the badger population and the presence of the disease in cattle. [150517]

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Mr. Bradshaw: To help to determine the cause of bovine TB and mechanisms of transmission, the Department has investigated spatially explicit GIS-based stochastic simulation badger/TB models. The models are complex and are described in detail in a range of scientific publications available from the Central Science Laboratory. The Randomised Badger Culling Trial is seeking to address the question of the contribution of the presence of infection in badgers to the presence of the disease in cattle, and results will be available in due course.

Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with regard to the TB control operation in Thornbury, what the level was of cattle TB in the trial area prior to the removal of badgers; how many times, by what methods, and how thoroughly the removal was effected; whether these operations led to an elimination of badgers; how soon after the completion of operations badgers re-colonised the area; and at what level the re-colonisation was noted. [150572]

Mr. Bradshaw: The incidence of herds with visible lesion reactors in the Thornbury intervention area, prior to badger clearance starting, was 74 in 1,314 herd years or 5.6 per cent. No reliable record exists of the number of gassing operations, but the Zuckerman Report refers to gassing starting in December 1975 and continuing to August 1976. Many setts were re-colonised immediately and "a considerable amount of re-gassing was necessary". The gas used in Thornbury was hydrogen cyanide and the badger activity was reduced to a "low level by 1979–80" (Zuckerman Report). The badger population at Thornbury took about 10 years to recover once action to prevent re-colonisation ceased.

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Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with regard to the TB control operation in Thornbury, for how long after the completion of operations cattle remained clear of TB, as assessed by use of cattle tuberculin tests. [150573]

Mr. Bradshaw: No confirmed cases of tuberculosis in cattle in the area of the Thornbury operation were disclosed by the tuberculin test in the 10-year period following the cessation of gassing.

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Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to her answer of 10 December 2003, Official Report, column 525W, when she expects to be able to release details of the content and funding of the future TB research programme, with specific reference to the funding of vaccine research. [150588]

Mr. Bradshaw: Future funding of the TB research programme, in common with all Government expenditure, will be considered as part of the 2004 Spending Review, which is under way and will be finalised later in the year.

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Future TB research requirements, including those for vaccine research, will be announced in May or June with the publication of the Animal Health and Welfare Research Requirements Document (RRD). Details of bovine TB research work currently being funded by Defra can be found on the Defra website.

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Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to her answer of 8 December 2003, Official Report, column 216W, what criteria have to be satisfied by (a) farmers and (b) livestock hauliers in order to gain multiple pick-up approval; who is responsible for granting approval; and what costs are involved in granting approval. [150595]

Mr. Bradshaw: All multiple pick-ups and drop-offs must take place at premises that have prior approval from Defra to operate as a multiple pick-up/drop-off site. The conditions under which multiple pick-ups and drop-offs may take place are set out in Annex B of the General Licences for cattle, sheep, goats and pigs. These licences can be found on the Defra website.

Inspectors or local veterinary inspectors are at Defra's expense. An inspection is carried out to ensure that the requirements of the licences can be met. The inspection is carried out either by animal health officers, veterinary officers, temporary veterinary inspectors or local veterinary inspectors and is at Defra's expense.

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Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what further estimate she has made of the increase in bovine TB following the discontinuance of reactive culling. [150625]

Mr. Bradshaw: The Independent Scientific Group on Cattle TB (ISO) has indicated that it will continue to analyse data from the treatment areas randomised as reactive areas as part of its regular interim analyses. The next such analysis, using data to March 2004, is expected to take place in April.

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Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to her answer of 10 December 2003, Official Report, column 523W, on badgers, how many individual clearance operations in the Krebs areas were specifically related to individual farms; how many such operations covered more than one farm; and what difference there was in the TB incidence in cattle on farms which were part of an operation covering more than one farm as compared with those which were subject to an operation covering only one farm. [150775]

Mr. Bradshaw: Management records indicate that 78 reactive operations were carried out under the Randomised Badger Culling Trial and these involved 172 notified, infected premises. Of these operations, 37 related to a single infected premise. The extent of TB incidence was not a factor considered when grouping geographically proximal breakdown premises for reactive culling operations.

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Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the Department's responses to Professor Zuckerman's recommendations on protecting badgers and cattle from TB. [150858]

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Mr. Bradshaw: The Department's responses to Professor Zuckerman's recommendations are summarised in Appendix 1 of Professor Dunnet's report to the Department in 1986 entitled "Badgers and Bovine Tuberculosis—Review of Policy". A copy of the report is available in the House of Commons Library.

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Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which of the (a) proactive and (b) reactive and (c) control areas of the Krebs trials underwent boundary changes after initial designation of the areas; and when these changes occurred. [150894]

Mr. Bradshaw: All trial areas were modified marginally to include or exclude whole farm premises following surveying and prior to initial proactive culling. On occasions, slight changes in treatment boundary have been agreed by the Independent Scientific Group on Cattle TB in response to changes observed in badger activity and social group organisation.

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Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether her Department have established a field scale experiment to model postulated modes of transmission of bovine TB between badgers and cattle to test hypotheses relating to the spread mechanisms of the disease using live or attenuated TB bacilli, or indicator organisms which mimic the behaviour of the TB bacilli. [150943]

Mr. Bradshaw: Defra has not established a trial of this nature. Epidemiological surveys are being undertaken which will provide information on risk factors associated with the occurrence of disease outbreaks.