VICTORIAN DIPPING REGULATIONS

Dominion, Volume 32, Issue 94, 14 January 1939, Page 4 (Supplement)

VICTORIAN DIPPING REGULATIONS

Dangers In Use Of Arsenic

For the protection of sheep-owners, the Victorian Sheep Dipping Act requires that all sheep and lambs be dipped withiii 60 days of shearing, says “Stock and Land,” This wise legislation aims at eliminating ticks and lice, both of which may cause considerable wool damage When present in large numbers. There are numerous good dipping powders and fluids pn the market, and the analysis of each is given in a list published by the Victorian Department of Agriculture for those registered under the Fungicides Act. The principal ingredients are arsenic, coal-tar products, and. rotenone, the last being the active principle of derris root. Coal-tar products and rotenone are known as contact dips, as they destroy the parasites concerned on contact with them. Arsenic exerts its poisonous action over a longer period, as it remains attached to 'the wool. Cureless Use of Arsenic. In the past, considerable mortality has been caused by the careless use of arsenic, which is very poisonous to stock. Contamination of the pasture from draining pens and from improperly drained sheep, and careless disposal of the dip or dip container after use, have all caused poisoninig l of animals. Another source of loss which may lollow arsenic dipping is a peculiar form of pneumonia, the actual cause of which is at present unknown. This pneumonia, which is not necessarily associated with exposure, may develop up to a week after dipping. Outbreaks of -the disease should be reported to the chief veterinary officer of the Department of Agriculture, so that an investigation into the cause may be made.

Dip Infected

In New Zealand last season .there was reported a mortality caused by an arsenical dip becoming contaminated with germs causing infection of sheep, which had suffered slight abrasions due to projections—such as nails and sharp spikes of wood —in tlie races and dipping baths. Arsenic is not a disinfectant, and therefore will not kill germs in the dip, so if the latter becomes grossly contaminated, these germs’may live indefinitely. A dip containing coal-tar products Would be less likely to cause such trouble. Particularly before an arsenical dipping fluid is used, the dip should be drained and cleaned thoroughly with a disinfectant solution. *

A common cause of dipping being ineffective in eradicating ticks or lice from a flock is an incomplete muster for dipping. One infested sheep, not dipped is likely to infest the elean flock in a few weeks, thereby nullifying the trouble arid expense involved.