Farmers Want Figures On Sheep Liver Infection'

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30762, 28 May 1965, Page 8

Farmers Want Figures On Sheep Liver Infection'

Concern that specific figures were not available to show the trend of hydatid infection in sheep livers was expressed at a meeting of the executive of the North Canterbury province of Federated Farmers. It was considered that these figures would be a yardstick for farmers to judge the effectiveness of the scheme.

Mr S. A. Uren raised the matter when the acting president (Mr R. H. Bedford) was reporting to the executive on discussions between the Dominion council of Federated Farmers and the National Hydatids Council, who were also accompanied by the chairman of the Meat Board, Sir John Ormond. Mr Bedford had said that while no figures were available they had been given to understand that the percentage of rejected livers was very low. He said that Sir John Ormond, in saying that there had been an improvement in this respect had said that he did not have any specific figures himself. Mr Uren said that he thought that these figures would be the only way of knowing that the money farmers were putting into this scheme was proving its worth.

Mr W. N. Dunlop, chairman of the meat and wool section of the province, said that the meat and wool council had

been trying to get these figures for what he thought would be about three years. He thought that the attitude of the freezing companies’ association was that the incidence of infection varied from area to area and that over-all figures would not be of much value. Taking Figures The Department of Agriculture, he believed, was taking figures for a specific area and that would give a fair guide to the position. The latest information was that the results of this would not be available this year, but he assumed that it would be next year. Mr Dunlop said he did not think there was any doubt that this would be the test of the progress the control scheme was making. Mr J. W. Overton said that the satisfactory progress reports on the tuberculosis eradication scheme had been one of the main factors in getting the scheme going. “Remaining Static” Earlier, Mr Bedford said that the hydatid infection in dogs was remaining static at a low level but was not getting better. In some areas in the North Island he said that it was fantastic how much hydatids there was amongst the dogs. Mr Bedford described as one of the hottest discussions he had heard at Dominion council one in which representatives of the Hydatids council and a representative from the Nelson area took part. The Nelson area, he said had practically refused to carry on strip dosing. They wanted dogs to be dosed on farms and were even prepared to pay for it, but the local

authority administering the eradication scheme would not agree to it. Reorganisation Plan The executive received a letter from the Waimea Dog Owners’ Association in which its chairman, Mr M. Wilkes set out proposals for the reorganisation of hydatid control in New Zealand which have been submitted to the Minister of Agriculture, (Mr Taiboys). In a covering letter the secretary of the association (Mr P. H. Malone) said that Mr Wilkes and his executive had been concerned with the “hopeless position the present National Hydatid Council policy is in.”

The executive “received” the letter after a discussion in committee.

Mr Wilkes proposed that the National Hydatids Council should be reconstituted with the Minister appointing members from names submitted by various organisations, farmers having a major representation.

It was also suggested that local bodies should be relieved of authority and that hydatid control officers should be trained, employed and directly controlled by the National Hydatids Council. The establishment of a national dog council responsible for all matters pertaining to dogs was mooted, and it was also proposed that collection of registration and hydatid fees should be done through the Post Office. It was suggested that the most positive method of dosing dogs which was technically sound, physically straight forward, administratively simple, least costly and of least inconvenience to the farmer was to dose on the farm at six-weekly intervals.