§ Mr. E. BROWNasked the Minister of Agriculture if his Department is carrying out any method of inspection at the ports of cattle arriving from Ireland and Canada; and, if so, what is the proportion of bruised and broken cattle due to overcrowding and bad packing?
§ Mr. BUXTONThe conditions, designed for the "protection of animals at sea," under which animals may be carried from Ireland and Canada to this country are laid down in the Animals Transit and General Order of 1912 in the case of the former, and the Importation2176W of Canadian Cattle Order of 1923, in the case of the latter. Animals from either country may land only at specified ports, where they are examined by Inspectors of the Ministry as they land or immediately afterwards. In 1923, out of 808,160 cattle imported from Ireland, only 1,166 or 1.4 per 1,000 died or were seriously injured at sea, while similar casualties among 40,479 Canadian cattle amounted to 54 or 1.33 per 1,000. The Ministry does not, and could not, keep a record of bruised cattle, as, in most instances, the bruising is only discoverable after the animals have been slaughtered, when they have passed out of the care of the Ministry's Inspectors.