OUR MILK SUPPLY.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 6496, 27 May 1899, Page 4

OUR MILK SUPPLY.

Sonip. rather alarming news Reached us from Wellington recently aboiit the discovery of diseased cows in dairy herds. Since then Mr J. A. Gilruth, chief Government veterinarian, has written to the Mayor of that city on the subject. The following i.s an extract from his ; letter. Speaking of the evidence he gave at the : meeting, he says : — < " I mentioned three badly tuberculous cows belonging to three different dairy farmers in the vicinity of WeJ'.injiton ; m each instance my examination being made at the special request of the owner. "I mentioned only one case of cancer; the animal was in an advanced stage of tuberculosis, and besides suffered from a large granulating bleeding tumour ribo;it six inches square and four deep. Microscopical examination proved this to be corn--posed of malignant cancerous tissue. " Whatever may havn Heen nttriV'it?>l to me, I have never said that ' there was no cancer amongst, the cattle in New .'.<■». land.' No scientist with regard for his reputation would make such a stateiruni-. i,e., unless he. had previously examined al' thp. cuttle personally. . "He alsn quoted the following from tl'e report of Mi- Reakes, Government veterinarian, contained in the annual report of last year: — '.Absolutely the -vvnrs f ""*">. I met was that of a dairy cow near Wellington, in which extensive generalised tuh-y---culosis -was present., p.very onran of + .he body being involved. Two quarters of the uddc wero badly diseased, and a calf s*x months old, which had been fed on tha Ws milk, w.TS, al*o, on post-mortem, found to be tubercular.' And in reference to this animal h". r^.p^Hs ; — ' The owner '. . . possessed only five niillring cows, nf which three proved to be tubercular.' " ' * Mr Gilruth further- stated in. his letter tii at "the above conditions are in suite of the fact that Wellington is one of the few ciHns which employs a special Inspector of Dairies." ■Now. J am not goinf to Ray that thf risurv herds from which i\"\ peonle of Ohristclwrch obtain their milk supply are in a;; b.td a .state as they appear to be in the Wellington district, neither do I say that ;mv dairyman would knowingly use the milk from a diseased cow ; but I do • fay. that he misrhfc efsilv do so -without knowing it, and if Wellington's special Dnirv Inspector wns deceived, may the public not be justifiVd in coming to the conclusion that a dairyman with little or no scientific knowledge might also be deceived into bslievinfr that his cows were healthy? However, the report from Wellington i.s of a sufficiently alarming nature to cause a feeling of uneasiness in the minds of the people of the Christchurch district. Our local authorities should deal with this matter as one of urgency, and in this connection the action of Councillor Samuels in ■mcvinsr that the Government bs asked to rvilow Mr Gilruth to inspect the dairies about Christchurch, is deserving of notice. The foregoing question is one which is receiving much attention ot the hn.nds of local authorities in England. The Middlensx County Council in Febmaxv last_ passed the following resolution-— "That in the opinion of the County Council it should bo made compulsory upon owners of cows to give notice to a county inspector of every disease in the udders of those animals, and. that owners omitting to give notice should be subject to a penalty." . Wide interest is being aroused in England by a clause in the Manchester Corporation (General Powers) Bill, empowering the medical officer of health, or any veterinary surgeon authorised by him, to enter any cowshed within ov without the city (if milk produced therein is being sent for sale in Manchester), and to examine the cows in order to determine whether any of them arc suffering from diseased or indurated udder.

The clause also renders cow-keepers liable to heavy penalties if they continue, aftel due warning, to send milk to Naachestei from a cow thus diseased 1 , or if they retain 1 in their possession cows with chronically, diseased udders. Bills containing a similar clause to that of the Manchester .measure are being promoted by Leeds, Salford, Stockport and Warringlon. So it would seem that Mr Gilruth has done well in sending forth his word of warning. Evidently from the energetic steps that are being taken in the Old Country, where they have expert knowledge to guide thern^ grave dangers to health and life are feared from the spread of tuberculosis through, thd medium of cows' milk.