Written Question · S1W-15702 · Session 1
How many cattle in Scotland over five years old have been burnt on funeral pyres as a result of the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak and, of…
The question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many cattle in Scotland over five years old have been burnt on funeral pyres as a result of the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak and, of these, how many it estimates could have had BSE.
The answer
Approximately 74,000 carcasses of cattle slaughtered in Scotland as a result of FMD have been burnt. Cattle were not aged individually so the information requested is not available. However, except in some early cases on farms only store or fattening cattle which are always less than five years old were buried. All the rest
- which will have included some cattle under five years
- were burnt, in line with SEAC advice. Information on BSE in relation to total cattle population in the year 2000 for areas of Scotland affected by FMD is shown in the table:Region | BSE Cases | Cattle Population
Dumfries and Galloway | 10 | 445,019
Borders | 3 | 154,968
Highland | 4 | 150,433
In view of the ongoing decline in BSE cases over a number of years now, and the above information, few, if any, cattle over five years old which were burnt could have been expected to be incubating BSE.
- which will have included some cattle under five years
- were burnt, in line with SEAC advice. Information on BSE in relation to total cattle population in the year 2000 for areas of Scotland affected by FMD is shown in the table:Region | BSE Cases | Cattle Population
Dumfries and Galloway | 10 | 445,019
Borders | 3 | 154,968
Highland | 4 | 150,433
In view of the ongoing decline in BSE cases over a number of years now, and the above information, few, if any, cattle over five years old which were burnt could have been expected to be incubating BSE.
In the Official Report
No contribution in the Official Report cites S1W-15702 by reference.