§ Sir J. Mellorasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade, as representing the Ministry of Food, whether, having regard to the damage done by rabbits to the productive capacity of the land, he will decontrol the price of rabbits in order to promote the maximum slaughter?
Major Lloyd GeorgeRabbits are normally the food of the poorer classes and my Noble Friend is not prepared to allow their prices to reach an excessive level. The present controlled prices were fixed in agreement with my right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, who was satisfied that they would provide an adequate return to the person trapping or shooting the rabbits, and would therefore not hamper the campaign for their destruction in the interests of food production from arable and grass land. Decontrol of prices might encourage persons to leave a stock of rabbits on their land for breeding purposes and thus defeat the object which my hon. Friend has in view.