§ Baroness Trumpingtonasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether it would be possible for the armed forces in the Falkland Islands to drive sheep across areas suspected of containing minefields, thereby reducing the risk of human casualties.
§ The Minister of State for Defence Procurement (Viscount Trenchard)Unfortunately, the use of livestock in this way is not a sufficiently reliable way of identifying or clearing areas of mines. More reliable means of detecting and clearing mines, particularly those with very low metal content, are being urgently pursued and any worthwhile methods will be made available to the Royal Engineers in the Falkland Islands as quickly as possible.