§ MR. SLOAN (Belfast, S.)To ask the Secretary for Scotland what are the duties i of veterinary surgeons under the Public ! Health Act in diseases transmissible from animals to man by milk or meat; what use does the medical officer of health make of the advice given in matters i purely veterinary; and whether the veterinary adviser reports through the medical officer of health or direct to the sanitary authority.
(Answered by Mr. Sinclair.) The duties of veterinary surgeons are contained in 506 Sections 43 and 60 of The Public Health Act, 1897. The use that a medical officer of health will make of any information or advice obtained from the veterinary surgeon will depend on the nature and circumstances of the individual case. With regard to the last part of the Question, when proceedings are taken under Section 60, the veterinary surgeon's re port, if any, is, in terms of the Statute, submitted to the local authority by the medical officer of health. In proceedings under Section 43 there is no statutory rule as to the reports, and it is for each local authority to determine whether any report under that section shall be submitted direct or through the medical officer of health. But in all cases it is the duty of the medical officer of health to advise his local authority as to the measures necessary to prevent the direct or indirect transmission of the disease to human beings, and, so far as authorised by Statute or otherwise, to execute or superintend the execution of those measures.