§ Mr. CHARLES BATHURSTasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Agriculture whether it was the intention of the Board, in issuing the Order of the 16th April, 1910, relating to the exportation of decrepit and worn-out horses, to put a stop to such exportation in the case of all animals which cannot be shipped abroad without undergoing physical pain owing to age, infirmity, illness, or injury; and, if so, what is the exact meaning of the provision in the Order under which the veterinary inspector is only enabled to refuse his consent to the proposed shipment if unnecessary suffering is likely to be caused thereby; and whether, in the interests of humanity and to ensure that the Order shall be put into effective operation, the Board will amend it by providing that no horse shall be shipped from a British port if, in the opinion of the veterinary inspector, such shipment is likely to involve suffering, whether necessary or unnecessary?
§ The PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY to the BOARD of AGRICULTURE (Sir E. Strachey)The terms of the Order to which the hon. Member refers follow pre- 1039 cisely those employed in Section 22 of the Diseases of Animals Act, 1894, under the authority of which the Order is made. The Board see no reason to doubt that it is sufficient to carry out their intention in the matter which is correctly expressed in the question.
§ Mr. CHARLES BATHURSTWill the Board take into account the extreme delicacy of the position of both the local authorities and of the local veterinary inspectors in moving in this matter, bearing in mind that it involves an increase of the local rates?
§ Sir E. STRACHEYCertainly, we will consider it.