§ Mr. FORRESTasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Agriculture what action the Department is taking to stamp out foot-and-mouth disease, and what success it has had; and whether it is necessary in all cases to destroy all the livestock on a farm on which the disease appears?
Sir A. BOSCAWEN(1) On the confirmation of disease trained inspectors are sent to the affected district to take charge of the operations for suppression of the disease.
(2) The operations for eradication have been invariably successful up to date, in connection with the numerous outbreaks of invasion which have occurred, but the source of invasion has not been discovered.
(3) It is not necessary to destroy all livestock on a farm on which disease appears, and it is the Ministry's practice to take means to save all the stock possible. Slaughter is confined to affected animals, but those in direct contact to the affected, and in some cases contiguous stock not actually affected, but which might form a chain for infection to spread to a large number of other stock further away, may also be slaughtered.
The Ministry has also secured the services of a special committee of eminent scientists to investigate the problems connected with this disease.