§ 62. Sir W. Smithersasked the Minister of Agriculture in how many cases and for how many birds, out of over 90,000 head of poultry which have recently been slaughtered, did his inspectors and the owners of the birds agree that there was no outward sign of fowl pest present or any variation from a normal condition.
Mr. T. WilliamsSlaughter has been carried out in 46 flocks containing 1,600 birds in none of which, at the time of inspection by the Ministry's veterinary officer, was there any visible sign of ill-health. In every case, however, there was reason to suspect that the flocks had been exposed to infection, and the existence of the disease was confirmed by a blood test before slaughter.