WRITTEN QUESTION P-0254/98 by John Corrie (PPE) to the Commission (5 February 1998)

Subject: Cattle deaths

The British Press has reported that 12 cattle imported into the United Kingdom have died from BSE.

Can the Commission say from which countries these cattle came and where they were born?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission (23 February 1998)

The Commission has contacted the British authorities as a result of the reports mentioned by the Honourable Member, and has received the following information.

At 30 January 1998 bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) had been diagnosed in 13 cattle imported into the United Kingdom. The countries from which they came were Belgium (1), France (5), Ireland (1), Italy (3), Netherlands (2) and Canada (1). No information is available on their countries of birth.

The British authorities have indicated that if the period of time between importation and diagnosis suggests that an animal could have been infected at the time of importation, they would pursue the matter with the authorities of the exporting country. So far, they have not found this to be necessary.