§ Mr. LEWISasked the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs whether he has received any reports as to the result of spraying arsenic dust from aeroplanes for the destruction of locusts in Southern Rhodesia and, in particular, as to whether this experiment has proved harmful to domestic cattle or to wild animals in the area in which it has been tried?
Mr. THOMASI understand that experiments designed to destroy locusts in flight by spraying them with finely divided arsenic dust from aeroplanes were carried out in Northern and Southern Rhodesia last summer by the Government of the former territory with the assistance of a grant from the Colonial Development Fund. The report on these experiments is contained in Appendix VIII of the Proceedings of the Third International Locust Conference held in London in September, 1934, which have been presented to Parliament as a Command Paper (Cmd. 4725). As regards the scond part of the question, no report has been received from the Government of Southern Rhodesia that these experiments had any harmful effect on domestic cattle or wild animals, though I understand that in three small areas damage was done to forest vegetation I gather that it is believed that in the light of the experience gained in the course of these experiments it will be possible to develop this method of attacking locusts in such a way as to eliminate risk to domestic or wild animals, provided that1320W it is carried out with due precautions, and under proper control. I am informed that the possibility of devising alternative methods of poisoning locusts is under careful consideration.