34. Brigadier-General C. BROWNasked the Minister of Agriculture whether 836 he can estimate, roughly, the losses in money values suffered by farmers in England, Scotland and Wales, respectively, in 1925, from abortion; and whether experiments are being made to discover a cure for this scourge?
Mr. GUINNESSAs epizootic abortion is not notifiable, I have no means of ascertaining the actual extent of the disease, and the data in my possession are insufficient to enable any estimate to be made of the losses to farmers which are due to abortion. The use of an immunising vaccine prepared in the Ministry's Laboratory has proved successful with non-pregnant animals, and an average of 26,000 doses have been supplied annually during the past seven years. This disease has been under careful investigation for a number of years, both in this country and abroad.
Brigadier-General BROWNIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that losses of farmers from abortion are much greater than from tuberculosis, and whether any steps are taken when stores are imported into this country to examine them to see if this disease is being brought into this country in the same way as they are tested on lauding against tuberculosis?
Mr. GUINNESSI will let my hon. and gallant Friend know what steps are taken to examine for disease in such cases. I understand that contagious abortion only shows itself when animals are breeding and I do not see that examination for this disease in stores, seeing that they are incapable of breeding, would have any useful effect.