TAXATION OF STALLIONS.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLI, Issue 71, 25 March 1907, Page 7

TAXATION OF STALLIONS.

A QUESTION FOR THE AGRICUL-

TURAL CONFERENCE

Considering the questions to be remitted to the forthcoming Agricultural ■Conference, the Marlborough A. and P. Committee #n Saturday afternoon discussed the question of taxing stallions.

Mr Vavasour moved, " That all stallions serving for a fee should be taxed, the tax to be collected by the Agricultural Association of the district, and that no stallion shall be allowed to serve for a fee unless first passed by a qualified Government Veterinarian as hereditarily sound." He had been in favour of this for 30 years. It had obtained in France for thirty or forty years, and had done incalculable* good. It was for the universal benefit that none but sound sires should be allowed to serve. The breed of horses was deteriorating. When he first came to the country in 1871 nothing better could be seen in hacks, due no doubt to the fact that only wealthy men were importing stallions, and they only used good animals. Nowadays anybody could run all sorts of weeds at as low as 10s, and as. a consequence the good horses were knocked out. This matter was of vital importance to agriculturists, and if the Act were put in force in a very few years our country would have the reputation of being the best horse breeding country in the world. We had all the attributes for success, such as climate, soil, etc. A tax on stallions, and none allowed to sevre unless passed by a qualified veterinarian as sound, would be of immense benefit to the country. Mr Dick seconded. Half the stallions travelling at present should be shot. He had no doubt these cheap sires were a nuisance arid a danger, and should be done away with. Mr Storey concurred, and said a man importing a good horse had no chance. The President remarked that the matter came before the last conference, and was not entertained. Multiform was instanced as showing the difficulty of defining a sound animal. The motion was carried.