§ MR. DELANY (Queen's County, Ossory)To ask the hon. Member for North Huntingdonshire, as representing 586 the Board of Agriculture, whether he will state (1) what steps were taken by the English Board of Agriculture, before issuing the recent Order imposing restrictions on the movement of Irish swine in this country, to ascertain the extent to which swine fever existed in Ireland; (2) whether the Irish Department of Agriculture was consulted; and, if so, what opinion was expressed by that Department; (3) and whether he can state the number of cases of swine fever which occurred in England and Ireland respectively during the year 1904 amongst pigs reared therein.
§ MR. DELANYTo ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, (1) whether the Department of Agriculture made any representations to the English Board of Agriculture with reference to the recent Order of the latter body placing restrictions on the importations of Irish swine; (2) and whether, considering the importance of the pig-rearing industry to the poorer districts of Ireland, and in view of the fact that swine fever is practically nonexistent in the country, he will take steps to have the Order revoked.
(Answered by Mr. Ailwyn Fellowes.) Perhaps I may be allowed to include in my reply an Answer to the hon. Member"s Question addressed to my right hon. friend the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland. The Board were in frequent communication with the Irish Department of Agriculture prior to the passing of the Order to which the hon. Member refers, and they gave the fullest consideration to the desire expressed by the Department that if possible the imposition of any restrictions on the movement of swine from Ireland into Great Britain should be avoided. The number of outbreaks which occurred in Great Britain and Ireland last year was 1,196 and 182 respectively, but the figures are not in any way comparable, the definition of an outbreak differing materially in the two countries. I may add that the recent action of the Board was founded upon the fact that in Ireland no precautionary measures are taken against the movement of diseased swine or of swine which may have been exposed to infection, such as those which have been adopted with so much success in 587 Great Britain. Experience has shown that the Board cannot, consistently with safety against the introduction of disease, accord more favourable treatment to Irish swine than is allowed in the case of pigs moved from one part of Great Britain to another.