§ 14. Mr. Pounderasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will introduce legislation to prohibit the shipment of horned cattle.
§ Mr. John MackieNo, Sir. The Orders governing the transport of cattle by sea are adequate to secure that horned cattle shipped from Great Britain travel without damage or injury.
§ Mr. PounderIs the hon. Gentleman aware of the recent prohibition on the shipment of horned cattle introduced by the Northern Ireland Ministry of Agriculture, and is not he prepared to follow a similar enlightened course of action?
§ Mr. MackieWe think there are sufficient safeguards in the restrictions which we have made, such as the tying up of cattle and so on. Of course, dehorning cattle is an important thing to do and I am amazed at how few farmers take advantage of this operation. I had experience 25 years ago of dehorning a herd of Ayrshire cows which were very wild with each other, and in little more than a week's time after being dehorned they were quite mild. That is one of the greatest lessons which I have had in favour of the argument for dehorning.