§ Mr. THORNEasked the Minister of Agriculture whether, in view of the failure of the farmers of Great Britain to provide a pork supply to the industrial centres, he will rescind the embargo on the importation of pork for consumption, and limit the ports at which it may be landed to London, Queenborough, Harwich, Hull, and Newcastle-on-Tyne. and with respect to bacon pigs intended for processing in bacon factories to admission at the same ports providing that they be scalded, cleansed, and scraped before shipment abroad and that, on arrival in this country, they be transported only in certain registered motor vans or railway vehicles and, if considered desirable, inspected?
§ Mr. N. BUXTONI would refer my hon. Friend to the answers which I gave to his questions on this subject on 4th November and 12th December, 1929, in which I pointed out that such movements of pork prices as had taken place only represented well recognised cyclical fluctuations in pig prices both at home and abroad. I further indicated to him that I had carefully considered whether any modification of the embargo was possible and that the embargo was undoubtedly necessary for the protection of livestock in this country from disease. The position remains as then stated. The conditions under which my hon. Friend 1525W proposes that the importation of pig carcases should be permitted would not afford adequate safeguards against the introduction of infection and I regret, therefore, that I am unable to modify the embargo in the manner he desires.