[To rim EDISOZ Or TIM “Bescrat.0..."]
Stn,—Having inspected horses en route to the Eastern ports of England for shipment to the Continent for close upon twenty years, I venture to point out certain phases of this traffic which seem to have escaped the attention they deserve. First of all, let me say that horses of all ages, from yearlings upwards, are exported, and that every considerable percentage are under twelve years old. The youngest include born- cripples, kickers, crib-suckers, jibbers, " runaways," and a large number which have been rendered unfit for work. Among the last named, mares without hereditary ailments- i.e., temporarily lame from sprains and bad shoeing, capable of recovering fitness for work on farms, and capable also of breeding useful foals—are shipped, whilst the shortage of our horse supply is becoming more and more acute. Carting con- tractors, tradesmen, and others are frequently unable to purchase horses at a reasonable price. From political plat- forms we hear parrot-like cries : "Back to the land," "The land for the people," "Better houses for farm labourers " ; but the people who shout like this appear to have no idea that these things are only possible on an insignificant scale where there are no horses. Why, in the name of fortune, do tve allow mares capable of doing a fair amount of work on the land and of breeding foals to leave the country ? In my time I have proved between two and three thousand cases of cruelty to horses in English Police Courts, and the proving of these necessitated a vast amount of post-mortem work with veterinary surgeons. And I venture to say that homes may, and do, suffer from injuries which no man can diagnose without post-mortem examina- tion. Before the last Act for the more effectual regulation of this traffic was passed I suggested that the dealers should pay 2s. 6d. for the examination of each horse presented at the ports for shipment. Also that the veterinary surgeon at each port should be under the direct control of the Board of Agriculture, and further, that he should accompany each con- signment to the port of debarkation. Two of these propositions were embodied in the Act, but not the last one, which I still deem necessary. A ship carrying horses of this class without an expert to attend to those whose hidden injuries may have been overlooked at the port of embarkation demands the attention of Parliament. The ramifications of this traffic extend to the remotest hamlets in the land ; thousands of ne'er-do-weals are on the look-out for horses which they think should go to " Antiwarp," and as many of these unfortunate creatures have no fixed abode it is often impossible to trace them when they are wanted. I doubt very much whether we shall ever be able to induce the people on the Continent to accept the carcases of dead horses from this country, and no long as high prices prevail on the Continent for British live horses the trade, I suppose, will go on; but the traffic should be purged of cruelty, cost what it may.—I am, Sir, dm, S. T. Romwsou,
Chief Inspector of the Northarnberlsnd and North Durham Society for the Protection of Animals.
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