Question
What evidence he has evaluated on the incidence of BSE-related conditions in animals other than cattle. - Inc table.
Answer
Mr. Campbell-Savours: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what evidence he has evaluated on the incidence of BSE-related conditions in animals other than cattle. [9] Mr. Rooker: The following table gives the number of confirmed Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy (TSE) cases in animals other than cattle in Great Britain as at 30 April 1997. _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Species Number of cases Ankole cow 2 Bison 1 Cheetah{1} 3 Domestic cat 77 Eland 6 Gemsbok 1 Kudu 6 Nyala 1 Ocelot 2 Oryx (Arabian) 1 Oryx (scimitar horned) 1 Puma 3 Tiger{2} 1 _________________________________________________________________________________________________. {1} Plus two litter mates that died in zoos abroad. {2} Plus another positive but clinically normal. Until November 1994, with the exception of BSE and scrapie, none of the other TSEs were notifiable. On the other hand, the Government believe that most cases of TSE have been reported to Agriculture Departments and epidemiological investigations have been carried out where possible. With respect to exotic ruminants, risk of infection was primarily associated with consumption of feed, often produced for cattle, which contained meat and bone meal (MBM). With respect to exotic felines and domestic cats, the risk was considered to be associated with consumption of central nervous system tissue which could legally be fed to them until it was banned in September 1990. No cases of TSE have been found confirmed in canines, although a case of spongiform encephalopathy in a Norwegian dog showing a spongiform change in the brain is under investigation. This is not yet confirmed and speculation about its origin delayed until results are available.