HC Deb 02 June 1949 vol 465 cc2305-7
47. Lieut.-Colonel Sir Thomas Moore

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he has yet devised a method by which horned and hornless cattle can be separated during transit from farm to slaughterhouse.

The Minister of Agriculture (Mr. Thomas Williams)

No, Sir. As I indicated in my reply to the hon. and gallant Member's earlier Question, the mere separation of horned and hornless cattle would not prevent the horned animals injuring each other; and there are a number of objections to it. I have been considering whether it would be possible to require the horned animals to be tied during transit, but so far my enquiries seem to show that such a provision would not, on balance, be desirable.

48. Sir T. Moore

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he has yet decided what changes should be made in the Transit of Animals Orders of 1927 and 1931, so as to limit the distance young calves may travel from collecting centres to slaughterhouses.

Mr. T. Williams

I am informed by my right hon. Friend, the Minister of Food, that it would not be desirable to place a limitation on the distances that calves are transported to slaughterhouses. Special arrangements are in operation to ensure that calves are handled and loaded humanely at the collecting centres by experienced men and that only vehicles in which the journey can be made comfortably and without delay are used for the purpose.

Colonel Gomme-Duncan

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that within the knowledge of myself and, I am sure, that of other hon. Members, there are many cases of extreme cruelty in the handling of these calves, some of them very young animals, and that they are often subject to long periods of exposure without any form of food and drink?

Mr. Williams

If that is so, then such cases ought to be brought to the notice of my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary.

54. Mr. J. L. Williams

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether, in view of the police evidence given at Garstang, Lancashire, on 26th May, of cruelty inflicted on 10 horses crammed into a motor cattle truck, in which they were transported for slaughter, he will take steps to have such unnecessary suffering obviated.

Mr. T. Williams

It is an offence under the Protection of Animals Act, 1911, to carry or cause to be carried any animal in such manner or position as to cause that animal any unnecessary suffering. In the case referred to by my hon. Friend, the persons responsible for the cruelty were, in fact, prosecuted under the Act, convicted and fined. No doubt the facts of this case will be brought to the notice of the Rosebery Committee and taken into account when they are preparing their recommendations.

Mr. J. L. Williams

Does not the Minister think, as nearly everyone else who takes notice of this matter thinks, that it would be much better to send these offenders to gaol rather than to fine them?

Mr. T. Williams

That may be, but I do not happen to be a J.P.