§ Mr. HANNONasked the Secretary of State for War whether any precautions 356W have been adopted by his Department to ensure that the hay which is purchased for use in His Majesty's Army has been grown in this country; if foreign hay is purchased by the War Office, from what sources is it secured; and if any consultation has taken place with the Minister of Agriculture on the import of foreign hay as a medium of infection of foot-and-mouth disease?
§ Mr. SHINWELLIn normal circumstances, all contracts placed by the War Department for the supply of hay to the Army at home stipulate that it shall be home-grown. Owing, however, to the prolonged drought last year, it has been found necessary to purchase a proportion of Canadian hay. No foreign hay was bought. The answer to the last part of the question is in the negative. No hay can be imported from a country in which foot-and-mouth disease has been declared.