§ 30. Sir J. Gilmourasked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many reports he has received in each of the last three years with regard to infertility in beef bulls which have been licensed by officials of his agricultural department.
§ Mr. RossNone, Sir. The provision of such information does not form part of the licensing procedure.
§ Sir J. GilmourI may have a slightly biased point of view, having recently been both buyer and seller of a bull which was infertile, but does not the right hon. Gentleman agree that it is necessary for his Department to follow the bulls which have been licensed to make certain that they do the work for which they have been licensed?
§ Mr. RossThe hon. Gentleman is not being fair. This is not the purpose of licensing. It has a very limited aim in relation to eliminating bulls which fall below certain minimum standards of conformation. If a breeder himself wants to go beyond that, it is up to him to do the follow up. It is not within the licence procedure to do this, which can be done only by the veterinary officer himself.