WRITTEN QUESTION No. 4037/97 by Joaquín SISÓ CRUELLAS to the Commission. Scrapie in sheep
Date: 1998-01-14
Institutions: European Parliament, SISO CRUELLAS
Subjects: animal disease, animal protein, cattle, exchange of information, health control, import restriction, public health, sheep, veterinary legislation

C 196/64

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

22. 6. 98

(98/C 196/87)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-4027/97

by Glenys Kinnock (PSE) to the Council

(15 January 1998)

Subject: Landmines and EU aid

Does the Council welcome the UK decision to review the levels of its development funding to recipient countries
which do not (cid:145)sign up(cid:146) to the Ottawa agreement on landmines?

Would  it,  therefore,  not  be  appropriate  for  the  Council  to  recommend  that  the  EU  should  adopt  similar
discrimination  against  recipients  of  EU  development  assistance  which  continue  to  produce  and  export
landmines?

Answer

(30 March 1997)

The Council has not to date been apprised of the content of the decision mentioned by the Honourable Member in
her question, and has not therefore discussed the issue.

Nevertheless,  the  Honourable  Member  will  be  aware  that,  in  the  Joint  Action  on  anti-personnel  landmines,
adopted on 28 November 1997, the Council recalled its resolution on the fight against anti-personnel landmines
of 22 November 1996, which identified certain measures which could be adopted and the criteria which should
govern the allocation of funds in support of mine clearance interventions.

At the same time, the European Union welcomed efforts to promote universal accession to the Convention on the
prohibition of the use, stockpiling, production and transfer of anti-personnel mines and on their destruction and
indicated  that  it  would  focus  attention  on  those  third  countries  which  continue  the  irresponsible  supply  and
indiscriminate use of anti-personnel landmines.

(98/C 196/88)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-4037/97

by Joaqu(cid:14)·n Siso· Cruellas (PPE) to the Commission

(14 January 1998)

Subject: Scrapie in sheep

The possible connection between bovine encephalopathy, or mad cow disease, and the sheep infection known as
scrapie or the staggers makes it necessary to take certain precautionary measures. The English name refers to the
animals(cid:146) compulsive rubbing that is symptomatic of this disease. Scrapie causes acute itching, progressive loss
of motor coordination, paralysis and death. The disease has become topical because of the appearance of bovine
encephalopathy  and  its  spread  to  humans,  since  both  diseases  are  caused  by  an  unconventional  infectious
substance, the prion, which affects humans and animals. The main source of infection in sheep derives from
adding  to  the  flock  animals  reared  on  infected  farms,  either  by  direct  contagion  or  by  transmission  from  the
parent sheep. Scrapie develops very slowly over a period of two to ten months, is progressive and fatal, and
infected animals are usually more than a year old, tending to be between two and four, with a clear loss of wool.
Tissue damage is limited to the normal pattern of encephalopathy, with the same appearance as in mad cow
disease, and there is still no treatment or special vaccine, making it necessary to destroy all the infected animals
and their progeny.

In view of the major impact throughout European society of the issue of mad cow disease, has the Commission
carried out any research to ascertain the actual extent of the impact of scrapie on the European flock?

› 

If so, what results have been obtained? If not, does it intend to do so?

›  What precautionary measures are being taken to prevent this disease becoming (cid:145)mad sheep disease(cid:146)?