Recognised Beef Breeds for the Purpose of Section 54

Part of Orders of the Day — Wildlife and Countryside Bill [Lords] – in the House of Commons at 11:30 pm on 30 July 1981.

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Mr. Bennett:

There are many parts of the Bill that disappoint my right hon. and hon. Friends. Walkers and ramblers are left feeling especially disappointed. The provisions about bulls and footpaths are considered by many to be particularly disappointing. In England and Wales, almost three-quarters of the country, it is an offence to have a bull in a field through which there runs a footpath. Farmers suffer no hardship as a result. No one has been able to present evidence that farmers find that restriction unsatisfactory. In the remaining quarter of the country there are byelaws that vary from area to area. Some byelaws contain no restrictions and others make it possible to have a bull in a field through which there runs a footpath as long as there are heifers or other cattle in the field. There were strong arguments that there should be a national provision rather than local provisions.

When the previous Labour Government were in office, a compromise was found which would have been reasonably effective. Unfortunately the change of Government caused the compromise to fall through.

We have clear evidence from the Health and Safety Executive that bulls are dangerous animals. Many farm workers are insured by bulls each year and occasionally there are fatalities. There is clear acceptance that bulls are dangerous. They are dangerous when they are being handled by experienced farm workers. They are extremely dangerous for the general public. Footpaths are rights of way for not only the able-bodied but for young people, for the elderly and for the handicapped. If bulls are dangerous for farm workers, clearly they are dangerous for those who find it difficult to walk or for young people. We should accept that there is a major problem with bulls if footpaths run through the fields which they occupy.

It is argued by those who want to make it possible for the bull to be in fields in which there are footpaths that otherwise farmers would be caused hardship. No one has so far been able to present evidence of any farm where more than about one-third of the fields have a footpath running through them. Therefore, usually the farmer has two-thirds—in many farms there is more—of his fields where it is easy for him to put a bull as there is no public footpath. However there, there is still that one-third. If one takes into account the stock which is normally carried on a farm, one sees that there is no need for the farmer ever to put his bull into one of those fields.

Many proposals were rehearsed in Committee. Some of those, and some of those on the Amendment Paper which have not been selected, are far more satisfactory solutions to the problem than the ones which have been selected. The ones which have been selected come down to the question of which bulls should be permitted. It has been argued by Opposition Members that there should be no bulls. If they are to be allowed, they should be only from recognised beef herds.

The Government have approached that by putting down a list of dairy herds which will be prohibited, but it does not deal with the matter in the way we proposed. I realise that the amendment is unsatisfactory and that most of my hon. Friends would have wanted to support a total ban on bulls in fields with footpaths. As we cannot have that, at least the amendments in our name are something towards a compromise.

I am certain that most ramblers in future will take the advice of the Minister, which is that on every occasion when they have any doubt about the safety of a bull in a field, they should report that bull to the Health and Safety Executive. The Minister made it clear that if a farmer persisted in having a bull in a field where there was a footpath, having had a complaint made against it, he was clearly liable to be in breach of the legislation.

In Committee the Minister's defence for not going further was that there was already health and safety legislation which made it an offence for a farmer to have in a field with a footpath any bull which he had any reason to believe was not safe. It is often said that the Health and Safety Executive suggests that no bull is safe, and if people make complaints it is clear that the bull is deemed to be dangerous and the farmer should have no right to put it in the field. It would have been better for us to legislate in the House and to make it clear that a farmer should not have a bull in a field with a footpath. If we do not do that, we shall have to take the Minister's advice, which is to use the Health and Safety Executive to ensure that bulls are not on footpaths.

I ask Conservative Members the following. If their child goes to a local village school, which involves his going over a footpath, would they want there to be a bull in the field through which the child has to walk to school? I suggest that they would not want that. The truth is that most farmers would not place their bulls on a footpath that leads to a village school. However, sadly, there are some who do not have regard for kindness to their neighbours, and particularly those who want to use their footpaths.

Unless Conservative Members can honestly say that they believe it to be safe for a bull to be in a field with a footpath, through which one of their children was to pass, they should be pressing firmly for stronger legislation than we have in the Bill at the moment.