§ Mr. Farrasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what has been the annual cost in the last five years of his Department's experiments in the use of narcotic baits.
§ Mr. John MackieThe following table gives the estimated cost of bait. Separate records of staff and incidental costs are not kept., but the table shows the numbers of staff who have taken part, for a small proportion of their time only, in the experiments.
Cost of Baits Number of Staff £ 1960–61 34 8 1961–62 41 8 1962–63 230 14 1963–64 417 14 1964–65 (to date) 370 14 (to date)
§ Mr. Farrasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if his Department is still experimenting with the use of narcotic baits; and on what scale and in what areas of the country experiments are being undertaken.
§ Mr. John MackieYes. Twenty-three experiments were planned for this winter in the East Midlands and Eastern regions. Twelve are in progress or completed.
§ Mr. Farrasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what conclusions he has come to on the use of narcotic baits in the control of wood-pigeons.
§ Mr. John MackieNone so far, but the signs are that the use of narcotic baits would be unlikely to be cheap or easy.