Animal Welfare: Infectious Diseases

My Lords, this may be a short debate, but to many people it is an exceedingly important one. I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Byford, for initiating it. I must declare an interest as I have a Highland pony stud and several breeds of sheep. I start by saying that I was brought up in Scotland and know the ferocity of the Scottish midge, which make the English one pale into insignificance. Mosquitoes and midges have a lot to answer for regarding infectious animal diseases. Many of us are concerned about the spread of bluetongue disease. I still cannot understand how so many German cows developed bluetongue after being imported into the UK. What is the incubation period, and should not imported stock be quarantined for that period? With tagging and individual numbers, how was it that the wrong cow was killed at a farm at Great Ayton, near Darlington, and the one infected with bluetongue remained free? Surely before killing an animal the infected one should be marked and kept separate. What progress has been made on a vaccination programme? I would like to spend the short time I have on the infections of equines. First, there is nothing more distressing than to see a good young horse go down with grass sickness. May seems to be the most dangerous month. There are the acute and sub-acute forms, which are invariably fatal, and the chronic cases that occasionally recover with constant nursing. Research has found that the cause is most likely to be a soil-based bacterium called Clostridium botulinum. More research is needed into this toxin in the hope of finding a vaccine. In Belgium a similar condition has been found in dogs and cats. The equine industry is very important, involving racing, show jumping and the Olympics as well as breeding, showing and riding of all sorts. There are many emerging infectious diseases. Many factors can influence this, including the expanding human population, the international travel of humans, animals and animal products, and climate change. Climate change has the most influence on vector-borne diseases, with disease that was originally confined to tropical countries on the rise in both Europe and around the world. Bluetongue virus is an example of this. Horses are second only to people in terms of volume of global air travel. Therefore, even if a country is geographically remote from exotic diseases, it is still at risk of exposure. What is the current progress on the specified-type equine exotic diseases—STEED—contingency plan? Are West Nile virus, a zoonotic disease, and African horse sickness, which has a high mortality rate, included in it? This illustrates the importance of having a Minister with responsibility for the horse. I hope that he is working closely with the World Organisation for Animal Health and that he is making zoonotic diseases a priority. The emergence of diseases such as HIV/AIDS which compromise the immune response and result in severe cases of human cryptosporidioses have led to wider global awareness of the disease and the parasite. Cryptosporidium is recognised as a contaminant in drinking and recreational water and is a major problem in terms of control due to its resistance to disinfection processes. It is a horrid infection resulting in liquid watery diarrhoea and much discomfort and is most debilitating in humans. The parasite can infect a wide range of animal species, including humans, cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, horses, deer and camelids. As clinical infections tend to occur most in neonatal animals, cleanliness of animal housing is vital. It is easily spread from livestock to people, so it is important to observe good occupational hygiene and wash hands thoroughly before eating to help prevent transmission of infection. It is exceedingly difficult to get water tested with so much privatisation and passing the buck. I hope the animal health budget will not be reduced. There are so many important demands on it for the health and safety of both animals and humans. I end by saying that there are many other infectious animal diseases, such as diseases in rabbits, that concern breeders. Will the Minister give your Lordships an update and a progress report on the use of vaccines to help prevent a wide range of diseases in a wide range of animals?