COLONEL MELLOR (Lancashire, Radcliffe)I beg to ask the President of the Board of Agriculture whether, having regard to the conflicting and contradictory orders for the muzzling of dogs issued by the County Council of Lancashire and certain local authorities within the said county, he will take steps to secure uniformity of action in localities which are in immediate contiguity to each other, so that the muzzling order may be uniformly enforced within such localities, or uniformly rescinded?
§ THE PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE (Mr. WALTER LONG,) Liverpool, West DerbyI agree with my hon. Friend that it is frequently very desirable that muzzling orders should be applied uniformly over a sufficiently wide area, irrespective of the fact that the area is comprised within the jurisdiction of several local authorities, and on many occasions we have taken active measures to secure this result. But, on the other hand, there may well be such a difference in the circumstances existing with regard to the areas of neighbouring local authorities as to justify those authorities in arriving at different decisions, especially as to the time when the regulations might be withdrawn, and where this was the case I could not, with advantage, interfere. I fully recognise, however, the inconvenience to which my attention is directed, although I am afraid that to some extent it must occur, whatever be the boundary adopted.