§ Major McCallumasked the Secretary of State for Scotland why the Department of Agriculture for Scotland are unable to offer any practical assistance to deal with the menace of foxes and hooded crows on farms in the Highlands of Scotland and particularly on hill-sheep farms; and whether he will consider the decision that this is a matter for local action by the farmers concerned?
Mr. JohnstonAgricultural Executive Committees are prepared to assist farmers in organising combined action against these pests, either in the arrangement of drives or in the formation of associations for the employment of hunters or trappers. I understand that such measures have been introduced with some success in a number of areas, including the Cowal district of Argyllshire, and I feel that local co-operative effort of this kind is likely to be of more practical assistance to farmers in the defence of their interests and in the discharge of their responsibilities than any attempt to1238W organise a central service, particularly in these days of great man power difficulties.