§ Mr. CHARLES BATHURSTasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Agriculture whether he can give the House any particulars with regard to the reported serious outbreak of Foot-and-Mouth disease at Chobham in Surrey; what precautions are being taken to prevent the spread of this alarming disease, and whether the Board have been able to trace the cause of the outbreak, and, if not, what steps are being taken with this object?
§ Mr. STANIERasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Agriculture whether the Board are able to give any further information regarding the outbreak of Foot-and-Mouth disease at Chobham in Surrey, and also the number of animals now affected, the cause of the 1876 outbreak, and the size of the area scheduled as infected?
§ Mr. GULLANDAt the time when the Board's chief veterinary officer visited the infected place there were in the farm buildings and the adjoining fields one bull, seventeen cows, six calves, one boar, four sows, sixty-one ewes and fifty-eight lambs. There were also on an "off-field" forty-six fat tegs which had recently been in the infected place, and two sows and one cow on adjacent premises had also been exposed to infection. In the circumstances it was decided to slaughter all these animals at once, and it is hoped that the work will be completed to-day. All the affected animals, namely, eighteen cattle and five pigs and the three animals on the adjacent premises were slaughtered by yesterday (Sunday) evening. Every effort is being made to establish the origin of the outbreak, but at present no conclusion has been arrived at. The size of the area is approximately a radius of fifteen miles from the infected premises. No sign of disease has yet been found except at the infected place.
§ Mr. CHARLES BATHURSTIn view of the extreme seriousness of the announcement just made, will the attention of the Board be drawn to the urgent desirability of checking the importation of foreign hay and straw particularly that used for packing purposes?
§ Mr. GULLANDI shall bring the matter before the attention of my hon. Friend.
§ Mr. STANIERMay I draw the attention of the Board of Agriculture to the fact that they ought to have their chief officer for diseases of animals on the spot, seeing there are 150 animals already ordered to be slaughtered?
§ Mr. GULLANDMy answer is that the chief veterinary officer did visit the place.
§ Mr. STANIERHe is not there now?
§ Mr. GULLANDBecause the animals are slaughtered.
§ Mr. LONSDALEWhat precautionary measures have been taken in Ireland in view of this outbreak?
§ The CHIEF SECRETARY for IRELAND (Mr. Birrell)They are fully alive to it.
§ Mr. LONSDALEIs it intended to place any restriction on the import of fodder into Ireland?
§ Mr. BIRRELLI will call attention to the matter.