Written question asked by Baroness Byford (Conservative), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Lord Bach (Labour) on Tuesday, 29 November 2005.

Bovine Tuberculosis

Question: Whether, under European Union Regulation 64/432, an authorised person conducting a test for tuberculosis is required to be a veterinary surgeon in order for the test to be recognised for the purposes of international trade; and, if so, what is the status of those animals tested by lay persons.

Answer: We are currently unable to export live cattle as a result of the export ban due to BSE. However, this is something which the Government have been working hard to get lifted.We have written advice from the European Commission, which we have shared with the veterinary profession, concerning our proposal to use trained lay testers to carry out TB testing. The Commission has clarified the circumstances where lay TB testers may not be used and recognised the benefits to the UK of employing lay testers.We will not use lay testers for pre-export testing where it is a requirement of the export health certificate that individual animals are subjected to a tuberculin test prior to being consigned for export. Our interpretation of the Commission’s advice is that tests performed by lay testers would not invalidate a herd’s officially tuberculosis-free status, provided that any pre-export test was performed by a veterinary surgeon.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 2513; 676 c17-8WA
Session: 2005-06
Subjects: Cattle Exports EU law Qualifications Testing Bovine tuberculosis Veterinary medicine
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk