§ 39. Mr. Hurdasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what progress has been achieved in the past year towards the elimination of the warble fly; and to what extent the loss on damaged hides has been reduced.
Mr. AmoryPreliminary reports from my officers suggested that over a large part of the country the requirement to treat infested cattle was better observed last year, but the full effect will not be apparent until later in the year. The proportion of warbled hides in 1955 is estimated at 15.5 per cent. Compared with 23.5 per cent. in 1954. This improvement is encouraging but it may have been due partly to weather conditions.
§ Mr. HurdWhile thanking my right hon. Friend for that satisfactory reply, may I ask him if he can tell us anything about the Isle of Wight experiment to eliminate warble fly altogether, and whether he sees any prospect of applying that method to other areas?