§ 50. Sir J. Mellorasked the Parliamentary, Secretary to the Board of Trade, as representing the Ministry of Food whether he will give the calculations on which maximum prices for rabbits are based?
Major Lloyd GeorgeThe maximum prices for rabbits were fixed in consultation with the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries at levels sufficient to encourage trapping while at the same time keeping the price to the consumer as low as possible.
§ Sir J. MellorWill my hon. and gallant Friend say whether there is any prospect of this control being removed in order to promote the slaughter of rabbits in the interests of agriculture?
Major Lloyd GeorgeI should not have thought there was any possibility of the 938 control being removed, because rabbits play an important part in the diet of the nation.
§ Sir W. DavisonWill my hon. and gallant Friend consult with the Minister of Agriculture, who has just stated that rabbits do not fulfil an important part with regard to food supplies, while on the other hand they destroy a great deal of the efforts at producing food in this country?
§ Sir J. MellorHas not the Minister of Agriculture said that rabbits are so destructive that their food value does not justify their existence?
Major Lloyd GeorgeThat may be so, but the prices fixed are sufficient to make it worth while catching them.