It is therefore appropriate to enable the funding of compulsorily slaughtered ovine and caprine animals programmes as an alternative to culling and destruction in the framework of scrapie eradication programmes.

On 11 January 2002 the Scientific Steering Committee (SSC) adopted an opinion on the additional safeguard provided by different culling schemes under the current conditions in the United Kingdom and Germany.

To this end the testing of animals slaughtered and destroyed under the Over Thirty Months Scheme should be expanded to cover all animals born after the feed ban.

(6) With a view to additional information of the occurrence of BSE in the United Kingdom, the testing in the OTMS should be expanded to include all animals born within one year after the effective enforcement of the feed ban. Other bovine animals slaughtered under the OTMS should be tested at random.

In addition, all bovine animals subject to casualty slaughter or found sick when slaughtered for destruction under the over thirty months scheme (OTMS) shall be tested.

(2) Article 24 of Council Decision 90/424/EEC of 26 June 1990 on expenditure in the veterinary field(2), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1258/1999(3), lays down the rules governing a Community financial contribution towards programmes for the eradication and monitoring of animal diseases, in particular that the disease must be listed in the Annex to the Decision, the slaughter programme (including possible compensation for producers) must be approved by the Commission, and expenditure (including any compensation for producers) may be eligible for a Community financial contribution.