HL Deb 19 December 1967 vol 287 cc1431-2WA
THE EARL OF MANSFIELD

asked Her Majesty's Government:

In what circumstances animals were allowed to be dispersed from Oswestry Market when the possible existence of foot-and-mouth disease was first suspected; whether it is correct that a number of animals slaughtered in one or more of the early outbreaks were left after death for some 48 hours without being buried, covered with earth or sprinkled with disinfectant, so that portions of the carcases could be carried away by foxes, dogs and corvines, with every likelihood of the disease being thus spread; and whether they will institute immediate and rigorous inquiries into the full circumstances attending the origin and rapid spread of this unprecedentedly severe epidemic.

LORD BESWICK

I would refer the noble Lord to the reply given to Lord Oakshott on November 9 about the movement of animals from Oswestry market following the initial outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in the vicinity. When animals are slaughtered on account of foot-and-mouth disease the carcases are immediately soaked in disinfectant. Should any delay in burial occur the disinfectant should itself deter predators, but if considered necessary by the veterinary officer in charge, the carcases are guarded. Experts from the Ministry of Agriculture and the Animal Virus Research Institute at Pirbright are carrying out an epidemiological survey of the present series of outbreaks.