§ Mr. DUKESasked the Minister of Agriculture if he is aware of the conditions under which worn-out horses are exported from this country to the Continent; whether he has knowledge that a large number of these animals, which have been declared unfit for work by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, are sent to France and Belgium, 573W where they are again put to work; and if he contemplates introducing legislation to put a stop to this traffic in worn-out horses?
§ Mr. BUXTONNo worn-out horses are allowed to be exported from this country. All horses exported to the Continent are subjected to a uniformly rigid veterinary examination immediately before shipment. The last part of the question does not therefore arise. I have no knowledge of the circumstances referred to in the second part of the question. On the contrary, officers of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals acknowledge that the standard of fitness imposed by the Ministry's port inspectors is a very high one, and that no horse which is unfit to travel and to work without suffering is passed for export.