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Animals: Quarantine

Volume 495: debated on Tuesday 7 July 2009

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many animals of each species were kept in quarantine facilities operated by his Department in 2008. (284098)

The following species arrived in the UK in 2008 and went into quarantine. This does not include animals which entered into quarantine at the end of 2007 and were released in 2008.

Species

Number in quarantine

Armadillos

2

Baboons

2

Bats

12

Beavers

38

Binturongs

1

Cats

1,169

Cheetahs

14

Chinchillas

2

Dogs

2,110

Foxes

4

Ferrets

2

Fossas

2

Fruit bats

10

Guinea pigs

5

Lemurs

4

Leopards

5

Lions

3

Lynxes

1

Mice

6

Ocelots

1

Otters

4

Primates

2,209

Pumas

4

Rabbits

16

Red pandas

1

Sea lions

3

Tenrecs

15

Tigers

5

Wallabies

2

Weasels

8

Wolves

1

Total

5,661

Note:

The figures in the table are taken from Animal Health’s bespoke quarantine system.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many animals in quarantine were vaccinated against rabies while in quarantine in each of the last five years. (284108)

The number of animals which went into quarantine in the following years (from 1 January until 31 December for each year) and were vaccinated against rabies are as follows:

Number of animals in quarantine and vaccinated against rabies

2005

1,836

2006

1,938

2007

1,642

2008

1,929

2009

1623

1 Figures from 1 January 2009 until 1 June 2009.

Note:

The figures in the table are taken from Animal Health’s bespoke quarantine system.

Only domestic (i.e. pet) cats and dogs are required to be vaccinated against rabies in quarantine unless they have been prepared for the Pet Travel Scheme for early release, in which case they can waive the requirement for rabies vaccination. Other mammals, zoo or research animals do not have to be vaccinated against rabies in quarantine.

These figures do not include animals which, for example, entered the UK (and entered quarantine) at the end of 2004 and were vaccinated, but released from quarantine in 2005.