BOVINE T.B

Timaru Herald, Volume CXL, Issue 20261, 9 November 1935, Page 3

BOVINE T.B

TESTING SHOULD BE SUPPORTED LETTER TO FARMERS The opinion that farmers should support the testing of cows for bovine tuberculosis was expressed by Mr D. M. France at yesterday’s meeting of the Timaru-St. Andrews Branch of the Farmers’ Union. The provincial executive forwarded a letter from the Director-General of Agriculture replying to a request for information regarding bovine tuberculosis, presumably concerning the activities of the Department in the matter of applying the tuberculin test to cattle. Tuberculosis in cattle was a notifiable disease under the Stock Act, 1908, owners being required to notify the inspector of stock for the district. In addition to this obligation on farmers officers of the Live Stock Division were regularly engaged in dealing with the inspection of cattle for tuberculosis, and in the condemnation and slaughter of affected animals. Further, the tuberculin test was applied to suspected animals and the Department undertook to apply the test to any complete dairy herd, free of charge if the owner desired it and made application accordingly. Throughout the Dominion the percentage of tubercular cow's yielding tubercular milk was very small indeed. At the veterinary laboratory at Wallaceville last year samples of the mixed milk of 707 individual dairy herds (representing 18,612 cows) supplying various cities and tow'ns were subjected to bacteriological and biological examination, and tubercular infection was found present in only eight of these. The eight herds were taken in hand and cleaned up. Under the existing system of. inspection of city and town milk supplies the cows were subject to periodical clinical examination, special attention being given to the condition of the udder and its adjacent lymphatic glands as it was in tuberculosis of the udder itself that the greatest likelihood of tubercular contamination of the milk yield existed. Should any cow have developed definite symptoms of tubercular disease it was at once condemned, while the presence of even a slight suspicion of possible infection was held to be sufficient warrant for applying the tuberculin test. Mr France considered that although New Zealand had a small percentage it should be arrested now and it would not cost very much to clean up the herds. The Farmers’ Union and the farming community should see that herds were kept clean in the interests of New Zealand’s products overseas. Mr P. R. Talbot explained that the Department had been doing this. Its officers were prepared to carry out testing free of charge and compensation was given for any animals that were destroyed. In the opinion of Mr France the Farmers’ Union should support the testing of cows as much as possible. When cows were affected they pas ,r-d it on to pigs and such a state of affairs must be detrimental to a family. He knew of one case where it was. The letter was received.