I thank Paul Davies for his questions and comments. I think it was very good that you, sort of, reiterated what I said about the risk to public health: it is very low, there have been no incidents at all of this strain of influenza in the public, and the Foods Standards Agency has said it’s very safe to eat both poultry and eggs. I think we were very quick to act—we took the decision around the precautionary measures, as I said, on the 6 December—and gave it a great deal of thought. I think the fact around free range was something that, obviously, was of concern to me, because you didn’t want to start the clock too early, because of obviously the 12 weeks in relation to the free-range status. You know, you didn’t want to start too early because that would have an impact on that. But I think it was right that we acted quickly and, certainly, I think the co-ordinated approach between the UK Government, Scotland and Wales has been able to give that very consistent approach, and Northern Ireland obviously followed closely after.

The chief veterinary officers I think have daily discussions, and certainly officials were having daily telephone conversations, and there have been meetings. So, at an official level, those discussions are going on at a very frequent rate. In relation to ministerial discussions, last week all four agricultural Ministers from across the UK were at the Oxford Farming Conference—sorry, three were there. The Scottish Minister wasn’t there, but there was a representative from Scotland. So, again, there were discussions, both at ministerial and official level.

I think the poultry register—. It’s very important—obviously, if you’ve got over 50 birds then it’s mandatory—but what I’ve asked officials to do it look at whether it should be mandatory for fewer than 50, because I am concerned that everybody does know about this. If you’ve only got two chickens, it’s just as important that you care just as much about your poultry as people with more. So, I’ve asked officials to have a look at whether it’s possible to introduce that also. But, again, I think it needs to be a consistent approach across the UK, so that’s something that we will be looking at going forward.

The poultry register has been, I think, in use for about 12 years, so it is a very well-maintained register. But I do think we need to look at what we can do for people who’ve got fewer than 50 birds. You’re quite right about the symptoms—it could be respiratory, it could be diarrhoea, it could be discolouration of the neck and face, so I think it’s very important, again, that people are aware of what the symptoms are. You discussed about free range, and you’re quite right—89 per cent of our egg production in Wales is free range and there is an impact on that. One of the reasons we’re looking at how we have this exit strategy is around free range also.

The welfare of birds is very important and, again, we know that birds aren’t used to being housed. You get different diseases when you’ve got birds together. Boredom is obviously something that has to be looked at, and that’s why we’ve put advice on the website regarding environment enrichment.

In relation to resources and support, we haven’t put any additional resources in at the minute. I asked officials yesterday if there were any concerns about the capacity of local authorities, because, obviously, they’re the ones that would have to come in if there wasn’t compliance. Again, I have to say officials were particularly pleased with the way Carmarthenshire council had been able to respond in light of the outbreak in Pontyberem.

Finally, I think your final point—it is down to all of us, and it’s a very good opportunity. One of the reasons I wanted to have this statement today was to again say that we can only just keep reiterating the importance, particularly, of biosecurity.