PURE MILK SUPPLY

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23431, 22 August 1939, Page 8

PURE MILK SUPPLY

Schemes for the eradication ol bovine tuberculosis from New Zealand dairy herds are still being considered by the Minister of Agriculture. Admittedly the problem is difficult and, as Mr. Lee Martin shows, is bound to prove very expensive if an attempt is made to apply a complete remedy in a short period. A practicable alternative seems to be the progressive elimination of tubercular cows, as suggested six years ago by Professor W. lliddet and Dr. E. Marsden. Had it been accepted then, it should have been possible by now to show considerable progress toward the goal. At least New Zealand might have been able to claim that all milk for town supply was derived from disease-free herds. The longer the delay in setting an objective, however modest for a beginning, the longer it will be before any achievement can be claimed. Mr. Lee Martin ought to be able to rely on the support of the Minister of Health and Education in launching a scheme seeking to guarantee supplies for local consumption, surely a vital point in public hygiene now that more whole milk is being consumed, especially in the schools. The movement might be accelerated by offering a premium on milk from tubcrcular-tested herds, as is dono in Britain. A campaign is in progress there to clean up the herds and tho British public has become conscious of the infection that milk may carry. It is probably true that butlter and cheese made from pasteurised cream »md milk do not carry infection, but it would be a safeguard in the British market and a good selling point if, ultimately, New Zealand dairy produce could be recommended as coming from tuber-culous-free cows and if, in the meanwhile, it could bo shown that the Dominion was working to minimise disease,.