Mr Burns: Will the Minister tell us what levels of compensation farmers may receive if any flocks or herds are required to be put down this summer because of bluetongue?

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development: When bluetongue is detected in imported animals that have been affected by, or exposed to, infection prior to arriving here, compensation is not paid if those animals are culled. In cases in which the Department culls animals that are infected with the disease, but have not been imported, compensation can be paid at half the value of the animal immediately before it became infected. In other cases, compensation is paid at the value of the animal immediately before it was slaughtered.

In the north Antrim case, the animals in question were culled, as a precautionary measure, before the full test results were received and prior to the epidemiological investigation being completed. That is normal procedure to prevent the introduction and spread of disease to an area that has been free from disease. The case is further complicated by the need to consider fully the emerging scientific evidence about the spread of the disease.

We had little power to stop imports, and we had to use all possible measures to encourage farmers and livestock dealers not to import cattle. The whole issue about compensation is linked to that.

We did what we had to do to protect the industry from the disease. Had we not acted when we did in February, the economic consequences of importing bluetongue would be huge.