HC Deb 04 August 1926 vol 198 c3025W
Colonel APPLIN

asked the Minister of Agriculture what practical evidence he possesses that scab in sheep can be more certainly cured when double-dipped at an interval of seven to 10 days, compared with the interval of 14 days which has been the practice throughout the world for the last 80 years?

Mr. GUINNESS

The Sheep Scab Order of 1920 requires that sheep shall be dipped at least twice within an interval of not less than seven and not more than 14 days. This interval was fixed as a result of experimental work into the life history of the sheep scab parasite. Eggs which the first dipping fails to kill may subsequently batch out, and practical experiments have shown that the young parasite is killed by the second dip if an interval of seven to 14 days is allowed.