§ Mr. O'SHAUGHNESSYasked the Vice-President of the Department of Agriculture (Ireland) how many cases of swine fever have come under the notice of the veterinary surgeons of the Department of Agriculture in the district of Glin, county Limerick, during the past twelve months; and from what source are the veterinary surgeons being paid for carrying on their investigations?
§ Mr. BIRRELLThe number of cases of supposed swine fever in the district of Glin, county Limerick, brought under the notice of the veterinary inspectors of the Department during the twelve months ended 30th June, 1912, was seventy-one. The existence of the disease was confirmed in only two of these cases. The Department's veterinary inspectors are paid out of moneys voted by Parliament.
§ Mr. O'SHAUGHNESSYasked the Vice-president of the Department of Agriculture (Ireland) what is the nature and result of the experiments which are being carried on in the district of Glin, county Limerick, by the veterinary surgeons of the Department of Agriculture during the past two years with cattle and pigs; what is the expense of the same, and out of what money is it being paid; and whether, as there is no local veterinary surgeon there, the Department would allow their surgeons to treat small farmers' cattle at a reasonable fee in urgent cases?
§ Mr. BIRRELLTwo investigations have been carried out in the Glin district, county Limerick. One was into the nature of a disease among swine which was prevalent in that district, and which in many ways resembled swine fever. Ex-1644W periments in this connection were made in the years 1909 and 1911. An account of the first series of experiments is given in the Department's Report under the Diseases of Animals Acts for 1909. Reference is also made to the investigation in the Report for 1911, page 23. The results so far obtained are not conclusive, and further experiments are necessary. The other investigation was in connection with contagious abortion in cattle with the object of testing the method of immunisation referred to in the Report of the Committee of Inquiry into the disease issued in 1909. Further experiments in this matter are under consideration. The cost of the swine experiments, £230, was paid out of the Parliamentary Grant-in-Aid for Diseases of Animals. The expenses of the cattle abortion experiments amount to about £50 up to the present, and are a charge on the Department's Endowment Fund. As regards the last paragraph of the question, the Department's permanent veterinary inspectors are debarred from engaging in ordinary local practice.