THE EARL OF MANSFIELDasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they are aware that a high proportion of the straw "pads" impregnated with disinfectant which are laid down at the entrances to farms and other agricultural premises are of a width totally insufficient to ensure that the entire length of the wheels of a tractor entering such premises comes into contact with the disinfectant; and whether they will point out to the farming community that a tractor with a wheel of 4 feet in diameter requires a straw "pad" of 14 feet width if the whole circumference of such a wheel is to be properly disinfected, and that 20 feet is preferable.
§ LORD BESWICKI am not aware that a high proportion of the disinfectant pads laid down at the entrances to farms are of an insufficient width. All farmers in infected areas have been advised by leaflet to lay straw mats or sacks soaked in disinfectant right across the entrances to their farms and to see that the mats are large enough to accommodate the full revolution of a tractor wheel. They have also been asked to ensure that the tyres of all vehicles entering or leaving farm premises are scrubbed with disinfectant.