HC Deb 01 December 1890 vol 349 cc236-7
MR. GRAY (Essex, Maldon)

I beg to ask the President of the Board of Agriculture whether his attention has been drawn to the report that recently, from one ship, in crossing the Atlantic, some 300 head of cattle were lost; and whether the Government are taking steps to minimise such occurrences?

THE PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE (Mr. CHAPLIN, Lincolnshire, Sleaford)

My attention has been called to the losses which occurred on board a ship which arrived at Newcastle from Montreal on November 9th, the Linda having lost during the voyage 379 cattle out of 554, after great suffering from exhaustion and suffocation. Acting under the powers vested in the Board of Agriculture by 47 and 48 Victoria, cap. 13, section 4, I have directed an order to be issued to prohibit the carriage of cattle by the vessel referred to.

MR. LENG (Dundee)

I beg to ask the President of the Board of Agriculture whether the statement made in the Annual Report of the Secretary of Agriculture in the United States that Not a single case of contagious pleuro-pneumonia has been detected among American cattle shipped to Great Britain since March last, accords with his official information. And whether any such cases have been detected on the landing of American cattle since American veterinarians have been appointed to inspect American cattle landed at British ports?

MR. CHAPLIN

The only Annual Report which has been received from the Secretary of the Agricultural Department of the United States is for 1889, but we are unable to find any statement therein such as that which appears in the hon. Member's question. I am informed that no cases of contagious pleuro-pneumonia have been detected among cattle landed from the United States since the 29th of March last, and therefore none since the arrival in this country of the three veterinarians appointed by the United States authorities to visit the foreign animals' wharves in Great Britain where American cattle may be landed. But so recently as September 30th a Report was received from Her Majesty's Ambassador at Washington reporting the re-appearance of pleuro-pneumonia in the State of New Jersey, a district which was supposed to be free from that disease, as no cases had been reported therein since January 20th of this year.