§ Captain TERRELLasked the Minister of Agriculture if he is aware that foot-and-mouth disease was introduced into the Thame district by animals carried in a railway truck from Banbury to Brill and Ludgershall station on the Great Western Railway, that the stationmaster, learning on hearsay that some of the cattle carried in the truck had developed foot-and-mouth disease, arranged for its disinfection on his own initiative and that no orders came from anyone as to the need for extra care in the disinfection of the truck; and whether better precautions can be taken to secure proper disinfection of all rolling stock with the least possible delay?
§ Mr. BUXTONIt is a standing duty of the railway company to disinfect all trucks, and particularly trucks of the kind mentioned. The administration in general is in the hands of local authorities, but the Ministry has always made a practice of intervening directly with regard to trucks which are believed to have carried suspected or infected animals. It is the duty of the Ministry's inspectors to enquire about these trucks and have them disinfected and this procedure was followed in this case. Owing, however, to a Sunday intervening, the authorities concerned could not be interviewed until the Monday. I am informed by the railway company that, in accordance with their standing regulations, the stationmaster at Brill had this particular truck properly disinfected after unloading. At the same time, had he not done so the matter would not have been neglected, since the Ministry's inspector on the spot approached the railway company on the subject on the Monday.