§ Mr. Lawrenceasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what precautions are taken to ensure that rabbits poisoned on his Department's authority to prevent population expansion are not shot and accidentally used for human or animal consumption; and whether he is satisfied with the efficiency of those precautions.
§ Mrs. FennerMy Department's advice on the use of poisons to control rabbits is restricted only to their gassing 165W within burrows, as permitted under the Prevention of Damage by Rabbits Act, 1939. Long experience of the techniques involved, which include the sealing of burrows, suggests that problems of the kind to which my hon. Friend refers do not arise.
§ Mr. Bidwellasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if his Department has issued advice for killing rabbits by placing poisoned carrots near their burrows; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mrs. FennerMy Department has issued no such advice. The placing of poisoned baits for purposes of rabbit control is prohibited under the Protection of Animals Act 1911.