asked Her Majesty's Government:
With reference to the Import and Export Restrictions (Foot-And-Mouth Disease) (No. 2) Regulations 2007 (SI 2007/2375), the Foot-and-Mouth Disease (Export Restrictions) Regulations 2007 (SI 2007/2489) and the Import and Export Restrictions (Foot-and-Mouth Disease) (No. 3) Regulations 2007 (SI 2007/2712) concerning restrictions resulting from foot and mouth disease, whether the importation of live animals susceptible to foot and mouth from member states in the European Union was allowed between 25 August and 13 September; and, if so, why the restriction against such imports was reimposed on 13 September. [HL794]
These domestic regulations implemented European Community legislation, which also required other member states to ensure that live animals of susceptible species were not dispatched to the restricted area within the UK. This area comprised the whole of Great Britain.
On 25 August 2007, these measures were relaxed and the ban on dispatching animals from other member states applied only to the protection zones and the surrounding surveillance zone. On 13 September, following the additional outbreak of foot and mouth disease, the restricted area in the UK was once again extended to the whole of Great Britain.
Therefore, between 25 August and 13 September, member states were able to dispatch live animals to any parts of Great Britain outside of the surveillance zone.
asked Her Majesty's Government:
With reference to the Import and Export Restrictions (Foot-And-Mouth Disease) (No. 2) Regulations 2007 (SI 2007/2375), the Foot-and-Mouth Disease (Export Restrictions) Regulations 2007 (SI 2007/2489) and the Import and Export Restrictions (Foot-and-Mouth Disease) (No. 3) Regulations 2007 (SI 2007/2712) concerning restrictions resulting from foot and mouth disease, why the word “Dispatch” in SI 2375 was replaced in the latter two by “Export”; and why the section on equidae was removed in SI 2489 and not reinstated in SI 2712. [HL795]
The word “dispatch” and the word “export” appear in the same set of regulations but are defined differently. This is to clarify the difference between the movement of goods within Great Britain (dispatch), and the movement of goods from Great Britain to other EU member states and third countries (export).
Commission Decision 2007/588/EC, which was implemented in England by the Foot-and-Mouth Disease (Export Restrictions) Regulations 2007 (SI 2007/2489), removed restrictions relating to equidae.
asked Her Majesty's Government:
With reference to the Import and Export Restrictions (Foot-And-Mouth Disease) (No. 2) Regulations 2007 (SI 2007/2375), the Foot-and-Mouth Disease (Export Restrictions) Regulations 2007 (SI 2007/2489) and the Import and Export Restrictions (Foot-and-Mouth Disease) (No. 3) Regulations 2007 (SI 2007/2712) concerning restrictions resulting from foot and mouth disease, why the prohibition against personal exports was excluded from SI 2489 and reintroduced in SI 2712; whether any such personal exports took place between 25 August and 13 September; and, if so, what they were composed of and in what quantities. [HL796]
Personal exports were allowed between 25 August and 13 September, as the foot and mouth disease restrictions only applied to a small area surrounding the initial outbreak. Information concerning the type and quantity of personal exports from Great Britain (GB) is not recorded, however.
Restrictions, including the personal export ban, on the whole of GB were reinstated on 13 September, following the discovery of further outbreak in Windsor, Maidenhead and Surrey.
asked Her Majesty's Government:
Why the Import and Export Restrictions (Foot-And-Mouth Disease) (Wales) Regulations 2007 (SI 2007/2330) implement European Commission decision 2007/552/EC while the Import and Export Restrictions (Foot-And-Mouth Disease) (No. 2) Regulations 2007 (SI 2007/2375), which applies to England, implements European Commission decision 2007/554/EC. [HL798]
): Animal health is a devolved matter, and England and Wales implement Commission decisions dealing with disease outbreaks separately. England and Wales have each implemented Commission Decision 2007/552/EC, through the Import and Export Restrictions (FMD) Regulations 2007 SI 2007/2331, and the Import and Export Restrictions (Foot-and- Mouth Disease) (Wales) Regulations 2007 (SI 2007/2330 (W189). Commission Decision 2007/554/EC revoked Decision 2007/552/EC. Accordingly, both England and Wales replaced the above-mentioned implementing legislation with the Import and Export Restrictions (FMD) (No.2) Regulations SI 2007/2375 and the Import and Export Restrictions (Foot-and-Mouth disease) (No 2) (Wales) Regulations (SI 2007/2385 (W. 196).