To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what guidance she has issued to the State Veterinary Service on whether a deer missing a hind foot should be classified as exhibiting signs of ill treatment or suffering. [115253]

No guidance has been issued to the State Veterinary Service. A veterinary inspector would be expected to use his experience and clinical judgment to assess such injuries and the degree to which an animal may be suffering or exhibiting signs of ill treatment.