To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many mink factory farms are currently operating under licence in each county of England and Wales.
No mink farms are currently operating in Wales. Details for England are as follows:
| England | As a 12 March 1992 |
| Northumberland | 1 |
| North Yorkshire | 1 |
| West Yorkshire | 3 |
| South Yorkshire | 1 |
| Humberside | 1 |
| Lancashire | 8 |
| Cheshire | 1 |
| Staffordshire | 1 |
| Norfolk | 1 |
| Suffolk | 3 |
| Hampshire | 1 |
| Isle of Wight | 1 |
| Cornwall | 2 |
| Total | 25 |
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether neck breaking or an intra-abdominal injection of chloral hydrate are permitted means of killing mink in fur farms.
The Protection of Animals Act 1911 requires any operation performed on an animal, including killing, to be performed with due care and humanity. The Department is not aware of either of the methods described being used on mink farms and intra-abdominal injection of chloral hydrate is not recommended. These methods would not be permitted for the routine slaughter of mink under the proposed Community regulation on protection of animals at slaughter.