Vol. 487 No. 8
34 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the way in which his Department has responded to allegations of cattle smuggling from Northern Ireland; whether there is any substance to these allegations; and the plans, if any, there are to deal with the effects of this. [5114/98]
The EU decision of 27 March 1996 which introduced a complete prohibition on the export of cattle from the United Kingdom was implemented in this country by regulations adopted on 28 March 1996. These regulations contain a wide range of powers including penalties of up to 12 months' imprisonment and fines of up to £1,000. A large-scale surveillance operation has been put in place to ensure that animals are not smuggled across the Border. To date, 1,436 animals have been seized since the entry into force of the EU prohibition, of which 919 have been destroyed. The remaining animals have either been released or are still detained pending further investigations. Increased surveillance is also in place at factories to ensure that smuggled animals are not presented for slaughter. My Department maintains a permanent veterinary presence at all export plants and identity cards and tags are checked to ensure that there has been no attempt at forgery or "laundering" of animals. Close contact is also maintained with the authorities in Northern Ireland on the matter. All the relevant authorities here are determined to enforce the ban while it remains in force.
