§ Sir A. Bossomasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will give consideration to giving a bonus for the head or tail of rabbits, such as is done for grey squirrels' tails with the object of encouraging the extermination of these pests.
Mr. AmoryOccupiers of land in rabbit clearance areas, which now cover well over half the country, are under a legal obligation to destroy wild rabbits on their land. I doubt whether a Government sponsored scheme on the lines suggested would be helpful in the present circumstances.
§ Captain Kerbyasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the cost, to date, of the large-scale advertisements advertising Rabbit Clearance Orders, which his Department has inserted, or caused to be inserted, in the Press throughout Britain.
Mr. AmoryThe cost of advertising Rabbit Clearance Orders in newspapers in England and Wales up to 30th November, 1955—the latest date for which figures are available—was £5,693. I am informed by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Scotland, that the corresponding expenditure in Scotland was £1,015.