To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many farms in (a) Essex and (b) the East of England were under bovine tuberculosis restrictions on the latest date for which figures are available. (288111)

DEFRA cannot provide the information in the format requested. DEFRA collects data on the number of herds under restriction because TB measures apply to a herd and not a farm.

We can provide the latest data from Vetnet (1 June) which shows that the number of herds under bovine TB restrictions on 31 March 2009 was (a) 19 herds in Essex, and (b) 636 herds in the East of England region.

Note:

Data downloaded from the Vetnet system is provisional and subject to change as more data becomes available.