§ Mr. LANE-FOXasked the Minister of Agriculture whether he is aware of the dissatisfaction existing among farmers in Yorkshire owing to the dilatory manner in which cattle suffering from foot-and-mouth disease have been dealt with; whether he is aware that in many cases their cattle have not been slaughtered till they had recovered or were well on the way to recovery; and whether he can see that so long as the policy of slaughter is persisted in it is carried out efficiently and rapidly?
Sir A. BOSCAWENI am aware that some delay has occurred in certain cases in Yorkshire in the slaughter of animals 1923W affected with foot-and-mouth disease. This has been due solely to the fact that for some days the number of outbreaks was so large as to render it impossible to obtain immediately the large number of veterinary officers and butchers necessary to deal with them. The policy of slaughter aims at the eradication of centres of infection, and I would point out that partially recovered animals may still be producing the virus of the disease and are therefore capable of spreading infection. Animals which had passed the actively infectious stage were not slaughtered.