Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the (a) average, (b) minimum and (c) longest time between an animal testing positive for TB at a farm test and being collected from that farm for destruction has been in the last 12 months.

Data for the previous 12 months is not readily available due to a change in the way this data is recorded in April 2016.

Removal times for the period April 2016 to November 2016 -

a) Average number of days = 9.3

b) Minimum number of days = 0

c) Maximum number of days = 89 days (as a result of farmer refusal to allow removal and bankruptcy complications).

These figures include animals slaughtered on farm for welfare or other reasons and those for which there was a delay in removal for any reason including to allow for calving, medicine withdrawal.

These figures cover England, Scotland and Wales.