§ Sir B. Neven-Spenceasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what annual percentage loss is held to be justified on economic or food production grounds among sheep stocks put on high ground in Scotland taken over by the Department of Agriculture for Scotland.
§ Mr. T. FraserThere is no generally accepted standard of health which could be applied as a test of the economic soundness of a sheep-farming enterprise. The annual percentage of loss of sheep which could be justified will vary according to the circumstances of the particular subject. The loss among stock placed on deer forests and similar lands by the1214W Secretary of State for Scotland during the war period up to November, 1944, is just under 20 per cent. per annum. Omitting the disastrous winter of 1940–41 when exceptional losses followed severe snowstorms the percentage is less than 17 per cent. per annum. The results are considered to have justified the stocking of these areas, which, when taken over, were either unused, or inadequately used, for production purposes.