§ 87. Mr. DELANYasked whether cattle detained at Wallasey lairage, Birkenhead, under the twelve hours' detention, were driven up 300 steps and that they had to be driven down again; and, in view of such treatment of the animals and the disadvantage entailed on their owners, whether the President of the Board of Agriculture is prepared to relax the Order for a twelve hours' detention for Irish cattle on this side?
§ Mr. RUNCIMANThe hon. Member has been good enough to send me a newspaper cutting containing the statement quoted in the question, and I am grateful to him for giving me this opportunity of correcting a grotesque exaggeration. The lairage at Wallasey is on two floors, and the upper floor is reached by a slope 564 with a gradient which nowhere exceeds one in five, fitted at frequent intervals with battens to prevent any danger of slipping. The same arrangement is made at some of the principal cattle markets in the country; it entails no cruelty to the animals or disadvantage to the owners, and it affords no reason for dispensing with the requirement of the present Order.