TUBERCULOSIS IN DAIRY HERDS

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22436, 24 June 1938, Page 19

TUBERCULOSIS IN DAIRY HERDS

“EVERY TRACE MUST BE WIPED OUT” FARMERS URGED TO FOLLOW COMPETITORS' EXAMPLE (PRESS ASSOCIATIOH TELEGRAM.) NEW PLYMOUTH, June 23. “If New Zealand is to hold her place in the British dairy market, every trace of tuberculosis in our herds must be wiped out,” Mr A. Morton, the president, told the National Dairy Conference. The percentage of tuberculosis in New Zealand dairy stock was very low, but other countries were eliminating the disease altogether and making this fact widely known n Britain. He referred to the visit to New Zealand of two of the greatest authorities in the world on animal disease problems, Dr. Hucker, of the United States, and Dr. John Hammond, of Cambridge University, and expressed the hope that everything possible would be done to free New Zealand dairy herds of the disease. He could not be too emphatic in impressing on every farmer in New Zealand the absolute necessity, of getting rid- of tuberculosis altogether. Certainly there was very little of the disease in New Zealand herds—much less than in competitive countries—but the position could not be left at that.

New Zealand’s competitors for the British market were taking strong and successful steps to wipe out tuberculosis. They were keeping the British people wpU informed of their progress, and when the disease disappeared altogether the fact that butter being offered to the British public was made from the milk of cows which were guaranteed iree of tuberculosis would be widely advertised. New Zealand must be in a position to be able to io the same, or her sales would suffer accordingly.

“The time may come when we farmers have charge of our own riiarketing again,” said Mr Morton. “We want to be ready to do this to the best advantage, and to do this we must be able to guarantee that our herds are free of disease”

He added that if overseas countries could get rid of tuberculosis when 40 per cent, if the stock was affected, New Zealand should not have great difficulty in following suit with less than 7 per cent, of the dairy cattle affected.