Kedgley Sue: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Kedgley Sue: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:609;Page:6553] 
6.  
SUE KEDGLEY (Green) 
 to the  
Minister for the Environment 
: How many sheep containing copies of human genes are currently in containment at the PPL Therapeutics Waikato facility and what will happen to these sheep if the company withdraws from the project? 
Hon MARIAN HOBBS (Minister for the Environment) 
: 
 I am advised there are just over 3000 sheep containing copies of human genes currently in the containment facility. The Environmental Risk Management Authority and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry are in daily contact with the company and the trial will continue to be operated in full compliance with the set conditions. 
Sue Kedgley 
: When does the approval for the PPL Therapeutics transgenic sheep trial end and is there any limit on the time that the company can keep its project on hold before it must decide what to do with it? 
Hon MARIAN HOBBS 
: As long as transgenic sheep are being held under the responsibility of that company it must meet the conditions set for the containment and management of those sheep. 
Dr Ashraf Choudhary 
: What assurances can the Minister give that sheep from the programme will not enter the human food chain? 
Hon MARIAN HOBBS 
: The controls contain a strict prohibition against the entry of genetic material into the food chain and the Environmental Risk Management Authority and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry will ensure that the conditions are complied with. 
Sue Kedgley 
: Why did the Environmental Risk Management Authority approve the PPL Therapeutics trial of up to 5000 transgenic sheep before clinical trials had even been completed that would demonstrate that the human protein the sheep were intended to produce was a valid effective and safe treatment for various diseases? 
Hon MARIAN HOBBS 
: It is the job of the Environmental Risk Management Authority to assess the benefits and risks of any application that comes before it and in this case I am satisfied it assessed that application appropriately in allowing it to go ahead. 
Ian Ewen-Street 
: Why is it that despite the large number of amendments to the Hazardous Substances and New Organisations Act the Government has still not introduced requirements for a clean-up bond—a bond that would cover a situation where a company is unable to meet its obligations to carry out controls imposed on it at approval as required for say a mining operation? 
Hon MARIAN HOBBS 
: There are controls for managing the situation when those sheep die or when the experiment is ended. The controls deal with the management of the sheep and the sheep will continue to be managed in accordance with those controls. 
Sue Kedgley 
: Who is responsible for implementing the controls set by the Environmental Risk Management Authority—which in this case might involve the disposal killing and incineration of up to 4000 sheep—if a company goes bankrupt or does a runner and who would meet the costs of doing so? 
Hon MARIAN HOBBS 
: When we are talking about that particular company going bankrupt we are talking about a hypothetical situation. I will repeat that the controls are to do with the management of the sheep. Someone will manage those sheep whether that person is the receiver the present owner or a new owner. The controls are about the management of the sheep.