HERD DISEASES

Southland Times, Issue 18962, 8 June 1923, Page 6

HERD DISEASES

RIGID CONTROL WANTED. LEGISLATION TO BE ASKED FOR. (Special to the Times.) DUNEDIN, June 7. A remit that the Government be urged to legislate to prohibit free trade in dairy stock affected by contagious diseases, was carried unanimously at the South Island Dairy Conference to-day. The Chairman, Mr H. J. Middleton, moved the remit, saying that they all must recognise .what a serious menace to the whole industry the contagious diseases were. They all knew the diseases to which he referred—contagious mammitis, contagious abortion, and contagious sterility. The industry was losing hundreds of thousands of pounds annually, and at present nothing was being done to check the diseases. The diseases were spreading rapidly, and something should be done to prevent the free trade in animals suffering from the diseases mentioned. He had considerable experience of soldiers going on the land and having to give up on account of having bought cows which were affected with one of the diseases mentioned. In this manner the Government was having it brough' home to it that the diseases were spre. ding, as the Government advances to the soldiers were being lost. Anyone who essed animals affected by the diseases i Lcntioned should not be allowed to pass them on to contaminate other herds. He had spoken to many about this matter, and also to Government officials who stated that the diseases mentioned were dying out, but he knew otherwise. The folk whose herds were affected had kept the matter quiet, and little information reached the Government officials. Those who possessed clean herds would be with him. The real objections would come from those who had dirty stock which they wanted to clean out. They all knew the low average return from each cow, and the reason why that average was so low was because all cows, productive or otherwise, were shown in the annual returns. If a cow was not producing it brought the average down. He would like to know how a man buying land at £4O an acre when, after he had collected h’s herd, he found that half were suffering from one of the diseases mentioned and gave him no return. If he put the diseased cows on the market again he lost a considerable amount. How was such a farmer to work out his salvation when he bought cows suffering from those dangerous diseases. The bankruptcy court was straight ahead of him. He hated Government control of any sort, but if people would not do the right thing by the industry without compulsion then they should get the necessary legislation. When he was a boy in England they could not move diseased stock across the road even, and they were forced to notify any disease. The farm was then quarantined, and until the authorities gave the farm a clean bill of health they could not move the stock. That was over 40 years ago, and it was often said that the Dominion lead the way. In this matter they were far behind England. He was not personally interested in the remit. It was necessary for the welfare of the that they get legislation prohibiting trafficking in diseased stock. If they passed the remit he would put it before the North Island meeting at Palmerston and endeavour to have it passed. If he were successful there they would be able to go to the Government with a united front and ask for the legislation. The Government could not very well turn down the united effort of the industry. Mr J. S. Grieve seconded the remit, and said that the Board of Agriculture had declined to recommend any legislation on this matter, and they were forced to go and ask for the necessary legislation. The Board had shunted the liability on to the various societies concerned.

Mr M. T. Timpany congratulated the mover in bringing forward the remit, which was the most important one brought before the Conference. While the diseases complained of were allowed to go unchecked i they would not get farmers to inVest ih I stud bulks. A farmer might buy a pure- ; bred bull for a large amount, and before , the season ended the bull would not be ! worth 5/- on account of a contagious disease which had established itself in the herd. Until contagious abortion and abortion were controlled, fanners would not buy stud bulls freely. They should go to the limit in this matter and ask for compulsion in dehorning also. Mr O. E. Neiderer and Mr J. 8. Dunlop supported the remit, the latter saying that it was a step in the right direction. Mr G. Rodger said that the legislation should go as far as possible, and all cull cows should be branded by a Government official.

Mr A. H. Mackrell said, instead of branding cull cows, they should be speyed, then they would not come back to the herds. Many farmers had told him they had lost a considerable amount through mammitis. Mr J. Mcßride: Instead of speying we should kill the cull cows.

Mr Middleton said that he was quite prepared to go the whole hog in this matter. During the few years he was dairying he r.peyed 25 per cent, of his herd every year, and those cows went to the butcher. With regard to dehorning, the benefits of it were so evident that it was incredible that dairymen should be farced to dehorn. Dehorned cattle lived in peace and were always contented. Dehorning cattle did not mean a financial loss to farmers, but the other remit would.

The remit was then put and carried unanimously.