HC Deb 25 July 1938 vol 338 cc2703-4
60. Mr. Acland

asked the Minister of Agriculture under what statutory provision drivers of lorries carrying livestock to and from markets are required to wash their lorries with water and disinfectant between each separate journey; and what procedure should lorry-drivers adopt when they are called upon to make several journeys carrying livestock to and from markets at places where there is no water supply?

Mr. W. S. Morrison

As the answer is a long one, I will, with the hon. Member's permission, circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

Mr. Acland

Is not the total effect of the answer that these people are being asked to do by law what is very nearly impossible?

Mr. Morrison

That is not the effect of the answer. It is a complicated matter, and I would ask the hon. Member to consider carefully the answer.

Following is the answer:

The cleansing and disinfection of vehicles used for the conveyance of animals by road is required by the Transit of Animals (Amendment) Order, 1932, made under Section 22 of the Diseases of Animals Act, 1894, for the purpose of preventing the spread of disease. The process has to be carried out by the owner, or person using or in charge of the vehicle, as soon as practicable after each load of animals has been entirely discharged and before any other animal or fodder or litter intended for animals is placed in the vehicle. Where a vehicle makes consecutive journeys between the same two points on the same day, for example, between a railway station and a market, the process may be carried out after the last of such consecutive journeys instead of between each journey. The Order does not make it compulsory to cleanse a vehicle at a market unless arrangements have been made by the local authority for the provision of the necessary facilities, including a water supply. If, however, no facilities are provided at a market at which animals are being discharged, the person owning or using the vehicle must make his own arrangements for cleansing it elsewhere. I am sending the hon. Member a copy of the relevant Order.