§ SIR EDWARD STRACHEY (Somersetshire, E.)To ask the President of the Board of Agriculture whether he is aware that Mr. Bonn, of Mudford, Somerset, was summoned for neglecting to notify swine fever on his premises; and whether, seeing that an inspector of the Board had previously inspected the swine on such premises, and though knowing them to be infected had not so informed the owner, he will explain why the inspector did not at once inform Mr. Bown of his swine being affected, so that Mr. Bown might have notified to the police and have refrained from moving any pigs off his farm.
(Answered by Mr. Hanbury.) The inspector was not in a position to state definitely that swine fever existed on the premises of Mr. Bown until a postmortem examination of viscera had taken place, but he informed the owner that he suspected the existence of the 834 disease on his premises, and pointed out to him his obligation, in any case of suspicion, to report the case to the police. This, however, Mr. Bown did not do, and on post-mortem examination proving the existence of disease, he was summoned by the police. The obligation to report applies equally to pigs suspected of swine fever as to those which are actually affected.