§ 36. Mrs. Mannasked the Minister of Food why he allowed 25,000 tons of New Zealand beef, sold to Britain, to be diverted to Ohio, United States of America; and how much Canadian beef was imported into the United Kingdom.
§ Major Lloyd GeorgeBecause of an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in Saskatchewan a year ago, the movement of Canadian livestock and meat to their usual market in the United States of America was stopped. To help Canada we agreed to take the resulting surplus in place of an equivalent quantity of beef from New Zealand to be shipped to the United States. Up to the end of February, 1953, we have received about 30,000 tons of Canadian beef.
§ Mrs. MannIs the right hon. and gallant Gentleman aware that this New York paper states that when Canadian meat was barred because of foot-and-mouth disease, it was taken by Britain? Is not that rather astonishing? Is that the kind of "red meat" we have been promised?
§ Major Lloyd GeorgeI am surprised that the hon. Lady does not know the regulations about foot-and-mouth disease, which are the same in Canada as in this country. We can take meat in this country from non-affected areas. All the meat we got from Canada came from non-affected areas.
§ Major Lloyd GeorgeIt was refused in the United States because they have different regulations. If there is foot-and-mouth disease, no cattle can cross into the United States from any part of a country in which the disease exists.