85. Lieut-Colonel A. MURRAYasked the Minister of Agriculture whether his attention has been drawn to the prosecution recently at Nottingham of a retired police superintendent and a butcher for attempting to kill three cows in an improper manner; whether these beasts were suffering from foot-and-mouth disease; whether an inspector of the Ministry of Agriculture was put in charge of the slaughtering operation; whether a humane slaughterer was used; and, if not, whether he will direct that in all such cases in the future no slaughtering shall 978 be carried out except with a humane slaughterer?
Sir A. BOSCAWENThe reply to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. The beasts in question were among a lot of 20 which were being slaughtered, because they were affected or in contact with animals affected with foot-and-mouth disease. The officer in charge had been appointed temporarily to act as an inspector of the Ministry in the emergency. The butcher was provided with a humane slaughterer, and some of the animals were despatched with it; the remainder stampeded, and it appears that owing to the difficulty of securing and roping these animals the humane killer was not used in slaughtering them. The Ministry requires all its inspectors to see that the humane killer is used for the slaughter of all animals condemned under the Diseases of Animals Acts and has provided over 300 instruments for the purpose.