Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the number of records relating to cows born in the UK that have been lost since September 2008; and if he will make a statement.
Answer
There are currently 8,768,528 cattle registered on the Cattle Tracing System. From 1 September 2008, 12,638 of these have been reported as being lost or not traced for reasons such as alleged theft. In addition to these, there are 25,289 cattle whose final destination is presently unreported. This is because the British Cattle Movement Service has received notification that the animal has left the holding but has not yet received the subsequent movement report on to the next holding.