§ MR. NIELDTo ask the President of the Board of Trade, whether his attention has been called to the reply of M. Helleputte in the Belgian Chamber of Deputies that his Department could do nothing to prevent the importation of worn-out horses shipped from England if not diseased, and that it remained for England to put an end to the trade, or at least properly to control one which causes torture to dumb creatures; whether he is aware that many of the English horses shipped to Antwerp are found to be in a terrible condition; and in view of that fact, whether he will introduce legislation to prohibit or control such traffic.
(Answered by Sir Edward Strachey.) My right hon. friend has asked me to reply to this Question. The Board of Agriculture and Fisheries have not yet seen the statement to which the hon. 799 Member refers. A copy of it will at once be obtained, and M. Helleputte's observations will be carefully considered. The exportation of horses from this country is controlled by an Order issued by the Board in 1898, a copy of which and of the last annual Report of Proceedings under the Diseases of Animals Acts, which contains full information on the subject, I shall be happy to send to the hon. Member.