VETERINARY SCIENCE

Press, Volume LXIX, Issue 20961, 15 September 1933, Page 5

VETERINARY SCIENCE

GROWING IMPORTANCE LECTURE BY MR A. LESLIE "New Zealand is a happy hunting ground for unqualified men," said Mr A. Leslie, Fellow of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, when addressing the Canterbury College Scientific Society last evening. The veterinary surgeon, continued the speaker, had emerged but recently from the stage when he was placed on a level with the blacksmith. This was because his science offered such a wide field for investigation that specialisation was rare. So in New Zealand we used to have men who knew very little of any one branch of the science. In England these men were known by such names as "cow-doctors," "catpraetors," and "poodle-l'akers," and many men earned as much as five guineas a visit for giving "quack potions to over-fed dogs.

j Work in New Zealand. ! Furthermore, a course in veterinary science would now take five years in England, and there was a tendency to much greater specialisation. But here j in New Zealand the difficulty was, that | while the farmer was getting big | prices he looked on losses as natural phenomena, and when bad times came ' and he was looking for means to eliminate these losses ho could not afford to have the doctor because of the smaJl value of his livestock. In spite of all these drawbacks, the science had made much progress in New Zealand and now there were bright prospects before the student who specialised in any particular branch. Some of the problems that had to be dealt with were:—The prevention of spread of diseases from stock to men, the inspection of meat for export and home consumption, the supervision of milk, the investigation of animal diseases; and the study of the smaller domesticated animals such as dogs, cats, and canaries would give a lucrative return to the specialist who had tact in | dealing with their owners. Meat Inspection. In a recent survey published in England, it was stated that the system of meat inspection in vogue in New Zealand was much better than that in Australia, where carcases showing tendency to disease were sometimes passed. The veterinary surgeon had to be on guard for tuberculosis, to see whether the carcase had been properly bled,- and was free from jaundice. "We pride ourselves on our Canterbury lamb," said Mr Leslie, "but I have not found it much different from that in other parts of New Zealand. The quality is uniform throughout. "Ten per cent, of cows in New Zealand are subject to tubercular affections, but that does not necessarily mean that they are a source of danger to humans," said the speaker. "It is only 1 per cent, of cows which have tuberculosis affecting the udder, and it is these that we have to beware of." In many cases tuberculosis in children was attributed to milk when it was due to infection from older people. There had been attempts to vaccinate cows, but so far the vaccine had not been thoroughly tested. Smallpox and undulant fever were diseases which could sometimes be traced to milk. To combat the risk of undulant fever pasteurisation of milk was common in New Zealand, but this process should not be encouraged. It was better to have general cleanliness than preservation of "milk that hasn't the decency to go sour when it's rotten." "Roaring" in racehorses was commonly supposed to be cured by veterinary surgeons, but this was an hereditary disease, and, while it could be cured in the animal itself, it was still dangerous to breed from the animal.

Dipping of Sheep. Now that mange had been eliminated there was little use fox - dipping in New Zealand. Ticks and parasites did not like it but they came back again next year, and it was doubtful whether the wool was permanently improved by it. In concluding, Mr Leslie said that he thought that veterinary science was now on a par "with medicine, "but unfortunately we do not rub shoulders with them in the matter of fees," he continued. "We have to get payment by result, although we can now draw our fees legally." A vote of thanks was accorded to Mr Leslie for his address."