PIG-KEEPING

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLII, Issue 20587, 28 November 1936, Page 15 (Supplement)

PIG-KEEPING

SCOURGE OF TUBERCULOSIS Annually thousands of pounds are being lost to dairyfarmers because of that prevalent disease among pigs, tuberculosis. Figures computed by freezing works show that no small percentage of pigs are condemned because of this disease, in fact the bulk of the condemned pigs comprise those affected with tuberculosis. If sonpe more effective way could be found of preventing this scourge among pigs it would mean a considerable saving to the majority of pig keepers. The fact that the pig can contract tuberculosis from the affected dairy cow through the milk of the latter is very disquieting knowledge for we rely so much on milk as the staple constituent of the pig’s ration. The pig is just as liable to be affected with tuberculosis through the skim-milk as through the whole milk, but with whey there is a different story. In feed trials conducted by the Waikato Pig Recording Club in the Waikato it has been found that, generally speaking, there has been a far greater percentage of tuberculosis in pigs fed with skim-milk than those fed with whey. The reason for this is not difficult to find. At the cheese factory the milk is subject to pasteurisation, the harmful bacteria being killed in the process, and thus the whey ultimately obtained by the pig-keeper is more or less free from harmful bacteria. But the skim-milk still contains any harmful bacteria that may have been present at separating time and furthermore it has to be remembered that the bacteria multiply very rapidly and consequently the longer the time between separation and feeding to the pigs, the greater will be the number of harmful bacteria. At this point it is very interesting to recollect that a law was once passed in Denmark, our chief rival, that has done so much to ensure the uniformity and quality of her pig products, making compulsory the pasteurisation of all milk by-products for pig feeding. When the loss to the dairy farmer through tuberculosis in pigs is considered it would seem that a similar law in this country would not be amiss. Taking the view that a large percentage of the tuberculosis in our pig herds is directly due to the milk fed to them, it is apparent that it would be preferable to go to the root of all the trouble if any great degree of success is to be expected from any steps taken in a national manner to combat tuberculosis. Firstly, the diseased cow must be removed from the dairy herd and to bring this very desirable objective about it would be necessary to institute a national scheme of eradicating tuberculosis from every dairy herd in the country.