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Written question asked by Bill Wiggin (Conservative) on Tuesday, 29 November 2005, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 1 December 2005. It was answered by Ben Bradshaw (Labour) on Monday, 12 December 2005 on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Bovine TB

Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many farms in England have produced positive skin tests for bovine TB 60 days after the first test in each month since 2001; and if she will make a statement.
Answer

The number of farms in England that produced a positive skin test for bovine TB 60-days after the first test in each month since 2001 are given in the following five tables. All animals were subsequently slaughtered.

Table 1: Data for 2001(1)
Number of farms
January 106
February 106
March 0
April 7
May 26
June 29
July 41
August 42
September 56
October 73
November 68
December 113
Table 2: Data for 2002(1)
Number of farms
January 203
February 269
March 352
April 437
May 318
June 204
July 351
August 190
September 315
October 201
November 401
December 288
Table 3: Data 2003(1)
Number of farms
January 380
February 397
March 487
April 346
May 345
June 406
July 273
August 271
September 333
October 209
November 324
December 191
Table 4: Data 2004(1)
Number of farms
January 351
February 295
March 451
April 329
May 240
June 289
July 230
August 247
September 185
October 245
November 382
December 236
Table 5: Data 2005(1)
Number of farms
January 322
February 317
March 280
April 381
May 281
June 210
July 167
August 70
September 62
Total January 2001 to September 2005 13,664
Notes:
(1) Provisional data downloaded from the State Veterinary Service Data Warehouse on 2 December 2005. Subject to change as more data becomes available.
(2) In 2001, the TB testing and control programme was largely suspended due to the Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) outbreak. When testing resumed in 2002, resources were concentrated on herds with overdue TB tests which would have had a longer period in which to contract the disease. Also the proportion of high risk herds tested immediately after the FMD outbreak was greater than that prior to the outbreak. As a result, data for 2001 and 2002 are not comparable with other years.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
440 c1592-3W;440 c1592-3W; 34276
Session
2005-06
Subjects
Farms Disease control Testing Bovine tuberculosis
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk