Trevor Sargent
Question:262 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development the consideration which is being given to the Irish Equine Centre report on the death of horses in the Askeaton area. [25127/01]
Written Answers. - Equine Report.
The report to which the Deputy refers relates to a paper published in the Journal of Veterinary and Human Toxicology in 1998. This paper described the post mortem findings in six horses submitted to the Equine Centre from a farm in Askeaton, Co. Limerick between December 1995 and July 1997. The authors of the paper claimed that lesions were due to aluminium toxicity and that the uptake of the latter had been facilitated by acid rain in the area.
The claims raised were discussed at a meeting in 1998 between the authors of the paper, representatives of the Environmental Protection Agency and the other agencies. At that meeting it was pointed out by Environmental Protection Agency representatives that intensive environmental monitoring had shown no evidence that the region has been subject either to acid rain or aluminium pollution.
My Department, in the Journal of Veterinary and Human Toxicology in 1999, gave a detailed response to the claims in the paper. This response highlighted the lack of credible evidence presented by the authors in support of their claims regarding aluminium involvement and suggested that many of the lesions described could be attributed to the effects of parasitism.
Furthermore, officials of my Department offered to meet with the authors in 1998 and 1999 to discuss this issue in further detail but to date, the authors have been unavailable for a meeting.