Laurence Robertson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2014-06-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the accuracy of TB tests for Alpacas; and if he will make a statement.

George Eustice

The Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency undertook research sponsored by the British Alpaca Society, the British Llama Society and British Camelids Ltd. to validate ante mortem TB tests in camelids. Their report was delivered to the sponsors in 2012 and a copy can be found at: http://www.llama.co.uk/resources/Validation_of_ante_mortem_TB_tests_in_Camelids.pdf.

The outcome of that research formed the basis of Defra’s proposals for combined skin and blood TB testing of camelids on which we consulted in April this year. They can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/bovine-tb-disease-controls-for-deer-and-camelids

“