HC Deb 29 November 1951 vol 494 cc163-4W
15. Mr. Baker White

asked the Minister of Agriculture if he will ban the present export of cattle from Folkestone and Lympne airport to Europe while his Department examines the circumstances of these exports, and cases of suffering, which on 17th November led to the intervention of an inspector from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Sir T. Dugdale

I presume that my hon. Friend is referring to the case of a steer that was injured while in transit from Norwich to Folkestone and which was slaughtered after an R.S.P.C.A. Inspector had drawn attention to its condition. I am not at present aware of any other recent cases of injury or unnecessary suffering amongst cattle intended for export from Folkestone or Lympne airport, or any circumstances that would justify a ban on this trade, but I have some inquiries still to make, and I will write to my hon. Friend giving him a fuller account of the circumstances under which the animals are being exported.