§ MR. DUCKHAMasked Mr. Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Whether he will now enforce the provisions of the Contagious Diseases (Animals) Act of 1878, and order the slaughter of animals suffering with foot-and-mouth disease, seeing that the disease is now restricted to two herds; and, whether, in the case of any fresh outbreak, it 687 will be promptly dealt with in like manner?
§ MR. DODSONI am sorry to say that foot-and-mouth disease prevails not in two, but in three herds—namely, in Yorkshire, Norfolk, and Surrey. The slaughter of diseased animals would not suffice to stamp out the disease. In one case the owner was willing that all the animals first attacked should be slaughtered; but the Veterinary Inspector of the Local Authority advised him that that would be of no use, as something like 100 animals had been in contact. In answer to the last Question, I may say that the expediency of slaughter, or otherwise, must in any given case depend on circumstances.