HC Deb 14 October 1946 vol 427 cc105-6W
Mr. Snadden

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if he will now give the findings of the expert committee inquiring into the causes of the deaths of cattle and sheep resulting from alleged gas poisoning.

(2) how many cattle sheep and other livestock and poultry in the counties of Perth and Stirling have been reported as suffering from, or as having died from, or as possibly contaminated by, gas or other poisoning since 25th June, 1946.

(3) what quantities of wheat, barley, oats or other grain crop, hay or silage are at present held in quarantine in the counties of Perth and Stirling pending a decision whether they are fit for use as a result of suspected poison gas contamination; and what acreages of pasture are deemed to be unsuitable for grazing from the same cause.

Mr. Westwood

At a conference held in Edinburgh early in July of this year between representatives of interested Departments ways and means were considered of minimising the damage caused to agriculture in parts of Perth and Stirling by the burning of surplus war stores in the late autumn of 1945. and it was agreed that tests should be carried out to ascertain to what extent crops and grazings had been affected. Pending the outcome of these investigations, farmers in the area were advised to harvest their crops, including hay, in the usual way but not to make use of them until the results were known. A series of tests was devised, involving the grazing of healthy cattle on farms where animals had been seriously affected. Samples of hay from similarly affected farms were also fed under experimental conditions to a number of healthy cattle in Edinburgh. These tests will be completed very shortly. All the cattle used in the experiments remain healthy and it is confidently expected that both crops and grazings will be shown to be free of contamination but until postmortems have been completed, a final assessment of results cannot be made. As soon as it has been made, farmers in the area will be advised whether any further observance of precautions is necessary.

There are no figures available to show what quantities of crops are being held back by farmers pending this announcement, nor what acreage of grazings is similarly affected. It is understood that no fresh stock has become affected since 25th June, 1946, but a few additional cases, apparently affected at an earlier stage, have been reported and investigated since that date.