§ Mr. John Ellisasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement about the cattle 186W stranded on the damaged freighter "El Tambo".
§ Mr. Knoxasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement about the action of his Department regarding the cattle on the Panamanian vessel "El Tambo" off Fishguard.
§ Mr. BishopFrom the time that the fire-damaged vessel "El Tambo" arrived off Fishguard last Wednesday the cattle on board were under the surveillance of Ministry veterinary staff. The immediate need was to feed and water the animals and to improve the ventilation in the ship; these vital tasks were undertaken by officers of the RSPCA and others and invaluable assistance was given by HMAS "Garganey".
The veterinary opinion was that the cattle were in no immediate danger in the "El Tambo". In view of the possible hazard to the cattle in berthing the ship at Fishguard and the inadequate facilities for accommodating them on shore, it was considered best to transfer them to two specially-equipped Dutch vessels, which arrived at Fishguard early on Sunday. The transfer was made without untoward incident; a further detailed veterinary examination of every animal was made yesterday morning and they were all found to be fit to travel. The two ships left yesterday afternoon.
I was present during the later stages of this difficult and delicate operation and should like to pay tribute to all who worked so hard to secure the welfare of the animals. I was most impressed with the co-operation and unstinting effort shown by all concerned.