§ 64. Sir BASIL PETOasked the Minister of Agriculture whether his attention has been called to an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in August last at Llangeinor, in the County of Glamorgan, and the prosecution of William Morgan, farmer, of Gelli Lotra, Llangeinor, on whose premises the outbreak occurred, for allowing the wrappings of part of a carcase of Argentine beef, which contained bones of the carcase, which he purchased for his dog, to come in contact with certain animals on his farm; whether he is aware that the inspector of the Board of Agriculture in giving evidence stated that in his opinion the source of the infection of foot-and-mouth disease on the defendant's farm was the wrapping and bones; and whether he proposes to take any further steps to prevent the spread of foot-and-mouth disease in this country from the meat, bones, or wrappers of imported Argentine beef?
§ The MINISTER of AGRICULTURE (Mr. Guinness)The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. With regard to the last part, the Foot-and-Mouth Disease (Packing of Materials) Order, 1925, was designed to 360 prevent meat wrappings of all kinds, unless and until they had been boiled or sterilised, from being brought into contact with any animal in Great Britain. The Foot-and-Mouth Disease (Boiling of Animal Foodstuffs) Order requires that any meat bones or other parts of the carcase of an animal which are intended to be fed to animals shall be boiled for at least one hour before such use. These two Orders, if obeyed, should give the country a large measure of protection against diseases of foreign origin.
§ Sir B. PETOAm I to infer that unless the bones from the chilled meat imported from the Argentine, or any other foreign source, have been boiled they do contain the germs of foot-and-mouth disease which may be communicated to the herds in this country?
§ Mr. GUINNESSWe have no direct experience in this matter, but the Report of the Foot-and-Mouth Disease Research Committee shows that although the danger in the case of bone marrow is less than in the case of fresh meat brought in covered with blood and serum of its own, still it does exist in the marrow, and for that reason we think it most important that these bones should always be boiled.