§ 59. Mr. STANIERasked the President of the Board of Agriculture whether he is able to give any information regarding the remedies for foot-and-mouth disease which he has been inquiring into?
§ Mr. RUNCIMANInquiries have been made, but, so far as the Board have been able to ascertain, no specific remedy for foot-and-mouth disease has yet been discovered.
§ 65. Sir JOHN SPEARasked how many cattle are affected by the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in Kent; if any cattle have recently been brought on to the affected farm; can he ascertain the probable cause of infection; and has any foreign cake, hay, or straw been recently brought on to the farm?
§ Mr. RUNCIMANFour cows and two calves at Wilmington Farm, Kennington, Ashford, Kent, were found to be affected with foot-and-mouth disease. Three cows and three sows were brought on to the farm for service during November. Inquiries are being made respecting them. No clue as to the origin of the disease has yet been found. So far as can be ascertained, no foreign fodder, cake, hay or straw has recently been brought on to the premises.
§ Mr. WILLIAM FIELDI desire to ask the President of the Board of Agriculture a question, of which I have given him private notice: Whether he can give the House any information as to the reported further outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease in Ireland, and what action he proposes to take as regards the trade between Ireland and Great Britain?
§ Mr. RUNCIMANI regret to say that foot-and-mouth disease was discovered by the Board's inspectors this morning amongst cattle shipped from Newry and landed at Birkenhead. This fact, taken in conjunction with the two suspected cases in Dublin to which I referred in my answer to the hon. Member yesterday, both of which were in the opinion of my 2287 veterinary officers, after examining the lesions, undoubtedly cases of foot-and-mouth disease, clearly suggests that the disease exists at some centre in Ireland as yet unknown, in connection with which the Irish Department have in consequence not yet been able to impose the necessary restrictions on the movement of animals. In these circumstances I feel that I have no alternative but to prohibit the landing of animals in this country for the present, until full investigation has been made and the disease located. In the meantime, of course, all necessary steps have been taken for the prevention of the spread of infection from the landing places. If a question is put to me on Monday I hope then to be able to make some further statement as to our future action.