§ MR. CHANNING (Northamptonshire, E.)To ask the President of the Board of Agriculture if he will say what were the dates of the two cases of rabies in dogs imported from the Continent since the order of 1897; from what countries the dogs were imported, and how long after their landing in this country the disease was detected, and, in the case of the dog brought back by its owner with a licence from the Board, how long the dog had been abroad; under what circumstances and in what place, the owner's house or a veterinary establishment, the disease was detected; and whether the owner attempted to conceal the disease or gave aid to the authorities.
(Answered by Mr. Hanbury.) The two cases of rabies to which the hon. Member refers occurred in December, 1898, and April, 1899, in dogs brought respectively from France and Gibraltar. In the one case nearly three months elapsed between the landing of the dog and the detection of the disease, and in 1303 the other there was an interval of a fortnight. The dog which has been taken abroad had remained abroad for fifteen months. In both cases the dog was detained on private premises, and in neither was there any attempt at the concealment of the disease, its existence being reported in the one case by the owner and in the other by the veterinary surgeon who had been called in.