I move amendment No. 1:—
Section 4. To delete the section and to substitute therefor a new section as follows:—
4. Any stallion which is entered in a prescribed stud book shall, for the purposes of this Act, be deemed to be an exempted stallion.
The difference between my amendment and those that come after it is that mine cuts the whole thing short and leaves every thoroughbred stallion free from the necessity of having to get a certificate and so on. My reason for bringing it forward is that I think the situation has been misunderstood. Those who have spoken in favour of the section seem to think that there are a large number of thoroughbred stallions, some of which are unfit for breeding purposes, in addition to those bought by the State. It is also suggested that these are hidden away and used surreptitiously; that it would be an extremely difficult matter to discover them and still more difficult to prove that they had been used as stallions. Those are the main reasons given for bringing forward this Bill and this particular section of it. I believe that these ideas are very far from being the case. I doubt if there is any single thoroughbred stallion, the possession or use of which is not well known in any district. It would not pay anybody to keep a stallion in secret. They are generally advertised in the local papers, and anybody who has a stallion is anxious to get fees and, therefore, is not likely to hide it away or to hide its light under a bushel, so to speak. It is a mistake, to my mind, to suppose that the possession of a stallion could not be known. Everybody in the district in which there is a stallion knows perfectly well that the stallion is there, and even if it is not advertised, it is generally known. Farmers are not so silly or so ignorant as not to know that there is a stallion next door or within five miles of them. My experience is that they do know and they will not use any stallion which is not useful for their purposes.
Some of the discussions that took place in the Dáil show what the opinions of some Deputies were. I think there was a general idea that something ought to be done in the matter and that the thoroughbred should be exempted or certain conditions applied to it. One Deputy asked "What is to be done with the stallion wandering about the roads alone and not belonging to anybody?", and another Deputy said "Put him in the pound." The Minister settled that question by saying "The pound may be full of such stallions." When I read this, I began to think that I am in Central Asia, because I never heard of stallions running wild about the roads of any country in the world except Central Asia, where I believe there is a type of wild horse. Besides, if any of these people had to catch a wild stallion running about the roads they might find it a very difficult job. Some stallions are very fierce. I knew a stallion down in Roscommon some years ago called Buckshot. No one could enter his stable. He was fed through a window, and certainly, I should not like to have to catch him and put him in a pound. There was another stallion, a very celebrated racehorse, called Chanticleer, long ago, who used to roar like a bull at times, and there was a trainer called Harry Stebbings who said that he liked being off Newmarket Heath when this horse was on it. I do not think it is possible for these things to be kept quiet, and my view is that it would be very much better to leave the thoroughbred stallion alone altogether. Some of the other amendments do not go so far as that, but that is my idea. My opinion is that officials should not be interfering in trade of any sort. If everything is going well, there is a great disadvantage in bringing in officials, but if, as is often found to be the case, an industry is being very badly managed, not being used properly and the country is at a loss as a result, naturally something must be done, and the Government and their officials ought to do it. But the exact opposite has happened in this country. So far from anything being wrong with the horses in this country, we have the best throughbreds in the world; we win more races than any other country and our horses are exported to all parts of the world. You will have evidence of that when Senator Parkinson, who knows all about these matters, comes to speak. Large numbers of stallions are being exported to India and America and other places. When I was in South Africa, I was given a free hand to choose racehorses when I came home here and to send them out there. I did not venture on such a step because I would get myself into trouble if I brought out a horse that would not win a race. I would not be very popular, so I left the matter alone.
Then, there is the case of the breeding of the stallions with half-bred mares in the country. They produce practically all the hunters in the country. We all know that hunters in Ireland fetch a fine price. That shows that there is nothing wrong with that business, so why should we bring in Bills to interfere with stallions in an industry which is succeeding and which has succeeded for the last hundred years excellently, without any of these Acts? I spoke on Second Reading on the same subject, so I do not think it is necessary to prolong the matter further. Certainly, it is my opinion that it is better to leave the thoroughbred horse alone altogether, whether crossed with half-bred mares or not. I pointed out on Second Reading that some of the amendments we have now before us are useful, no doubt, for the big studs such as are found at the Curragh in Kildare, but we do not want to put any stoppage on the small studs round the country. There were many of them in my time round the country, and many of the best horses were brought there. The owner of the stud may have a thoroughbred horse and he may have four or five mares breeding from that stallion, but if he were bound down in such a way that the stallion could not be crossed with any other than his own five mares, it would not pay him. He, therefore, lets out his stallion to suitable half-bred mares. He cannot do that now, unless he has permission from some official to do so. I do not deny that there will be difficulties in any arrangement which we make, but there is less difficulty in making one clean sweep of this provision than by trying to make all sorts of ins and outs with arrangements and permits and various things of that kind. I, therefore, propose the amendment which is to free all thoroughbred horses from interference by officials. It simply says that a stallion which is entered in a prescribed stud book shall be deemed to be an exempted stallion.
