§ 18. Mr. Dyeasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many outbreaks of fowl pest have occurred in Norfolk in 1958; and what is the total number of poultry that have so far been destroyed.
§ Mr. GodberFrom 1st January to 29th October, 143 outbreaks of fowl pest have occurred in Norfolk and about 180,000 birds have been slaughtered as a result.
§ Mr. DyeIn view of the continuous outbreaks of fowl pest in the county, is the hon. Gentleman sure that there is no special reason for it in Norfolk? Is 590 there any failure on the part of the efforts of his officers to stamp it out, or is it time we reviewed the situation and tried to bring this disease completely under control, or to do something else in regard to it?
§ Mr. GodberI can assure the hon. Member we are doing all we possibly can. These outbreaks are very difficult to control—he may be aware of the trouble we had in Lancashire some time ago. In Norfolk, we had a sudden outburst in July and August involving very large numbers, but one can claim that the number of outbreaks has dropped. There were fifty in August, twenty in September and fourteen in October. The outbreaks appear to be decreasing, but one can never tell with these things. We have to use the utmost care, and we shall continue to do that to try to eradicate them.