STOCK EMBARGO

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18203, 26 September 1933, Page 2

STOCK EMBARGO

’ (To the Editor of the Herald.) Si r —There is an old adage and a true one “God helps those tvho help themselves,” so it is no good lying down and crving out “God help me. Neither will He help those who sit or, the fence. This foot-and-mouth disease is a very serious question, and those who advocate that there is no

danger of introducing new bloou irom overseas do not know what they are talking or writing about. Our president remarked last week that we were losing public opinion; it is > only too true simply because these men who write in the press advocating the removal of the embargo are,not answered through the press and their folly .exposed. There was last September 9 Mr W. M. Webster telling the public that there was no danger on the removal of the embargo, and that because it spread like wildfire it immediately became noticeable, therefore it. could easily be kept in check as it forced its attention on one. In answer to that the British Government has issued a f leaflet to farmers telling them that they must report at once if they expect and wish to stamp the disease out of the country,-and not only that, but they'must report any illness amongst their stock, so that there shall be no suspicious case overlooked. It the New Zealand farmer has ever to knuckle down to those , restrictions what it time and a jolly good one the New Zealand vets, will have; yes, and ac the expense of the plain every-dav farmer. Then under No. (2) he says: These carriers do not ( exist because ail The animals and those in contact are destroyed in England. To that I give a flat "denial; it is not true. I know that England was free from the disease, for 30 years, and the disease broke out by lifting the embargo on Cartadinn cattle to please the Scottish farmers about the year .1921, and a certain pedigree herd iii Leicestershire was one of the early ones to have the disease, and because it was such a valuable herd the whole herd were not killed and burnt' and it was reported in the papers to that effect. It was reported on August IS, 1933, that there had been two outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease in Leicestershire, affecting five counties, and that the outbreak was puzzling the officials of the Ministry of Agriculture. This is the very county where the pedigree herd was saved years ago; and then tell the public there can be no carriers. Here

we have a clean country, an asset worth millions, that these so-called educated men are going to chuck away for a mere song. Talk aibout common sense! as Professor It. E. Alexander says in September 18 issue, it makes one wonder if these men are not suf-

fering from some severe crack .or

cracks in their belfry in wishing to run the risks of importing foot-and-mouth disease in a clean country, and when once introduced it will be practically impossible to stamp it out, and do you farmers know that when once the animal has it, though you may succeed in curing it, it is never the same animal again. I will ask these learned and stud men a simple elementary everyday

coin monsense question: Do they expect

their stock to thrive on food not to their own liking. I ask them as humane animals would they expect to thrive on food distasteful to them? Certainly the eommonsense answer is no; we want food that we can enjoy. Exactly so, then why is it throughout the whole North Isiand that animals are fed on food distasteful to them? Eut that is just how they are treating their stock anil expect them to thrive. It cannot be done and it is true what I say. I fear no denial from any man. I get letters anil reports from all over the country to that effect. The animal has first to be fed correctly, just the same way as your cultivations have to to be correct before you can grow your crop. And not. only has the animal to be fed correctly, but it must have its correct sleeping quarters. Those questions open up such a wide field in agriculture that it is impossible to say more in. a letter. Mr Editor, I thank you for your space, and I hope this letter will make some of those who

read it feel that they do not know so much as they imagine, and when I tell them that the virus of the foot-and-mouth disease is so small that 3000 call pass through the smallest eye of a needle abreast and in perfect alignment,- they might consider that the virus is something that should not be played with, but to be taken seriously.—Yours( etc., A. KENT.