No. 6. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 141 



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gation of information on this subject. This is due to the distorted or false 

 statements regarding tuberculosis that have been distributed during the past 

 few years frum certain sources liaving selfish ends to serve. 



The position that the representatives of the State Livestock Sanitary Board 

 have taken in regard to tuberculosis has always been conservative. There 

 has been no effort, in Pennsylvania, to force farmers, against their will, to 

 have thfir herds tested with tuberculin, or to have cattle that have reacted 

 to tuberculin destroyed. The tuberculin test of herds in this State has always 

 been voluntary and owners of reacting cattle in early stages of tuberculosis have 

 alwaj's been encouraged to keep these animals and to use them subject to the 

 principles and precautions of the Bang or Danish system. The only compul- 

 sion that exists in regard to the use of tuberculin is that in relation to the 

 inspection of dairy cows and cattle for breeding purposes brought into Pennsyl- 

 vania from other states. The only compulsion that exists in regard to the 

 destruction of tuberculous cattle applies to cows that have tuberculosis of 

 the udder, or to animals afflicted with the disease in an extensive or generalized 

 form. The disagreements and disputes that have occurred in some other states 

 between the veterinary sanitary authorities and herd owners have been notable 

 for their absence in Pennsylvania. 



When a farmer realizes what tuberculosis of cattle is and what its preva- 

 lence in his herd means to him, he is quite as anxious to get rid of t'ne disease 

 as the public can be tliat he shall do so. If herd owners have, in some instances, 

 been tardy in reporting tuberculosis or in taking effective measures to eradi- 

 cate it from their herds, it has been because they were misinformed in regard 

 to the disease and its significance, or because the resources of tlie State 

 Livestock Sanitary Board were not sufficient to furnish them the aid and as- 

 sistance that they desired. If appraisemients for reacting cattle could be made 

 on such a basis as to allow about three-fourths of the actual value of such ani- 

 mals, chey ^\ouId run at an average of about $40.00 per head, excepting in pure 

 bred herds, where they would be higher. If appraisements could be made on 

 this basis, the requests from owners for assistance in eradicating tuberculosis 

 from their herds would be very numerous, as is shown by the fact that under 

 present conditions there are now on file more than nine hundred applications 

 from herd owners in excess of a number that can be responded to, on account of 

 insufficient appi-opriation. If appraisement could be made on such a basis as 

 indicated above, the cost to the State for its work in the eradication of tuber- 

 culosis of cattle would be from $150,000.00 to $200,000.00 a year. The appraise- 

 ments for cattle destroyed have always been far below the real value of the 

 cattle and it is necessary, Viith the very small appropriation now available, 

 and the great demand of farmers for assistance, that the average appraise- 

 ment shall be lowered still more in order that the maximum number of farmers 

 may be helped to some extent. At present, the resources are so limited that it 

 is not possible to eradicate tuberculosis from one-half of the herds that are 

 reported by their owners with requests for assistance. 



Tuberculosis has been spreading among cattle for a long term of years. Its 

 spread is very insidious and it is frequently impossible to ascertain when a 

 given herd became infected. Of course it is known that the chief mode of dis- 

 tribution is through the transfer of infected cattle from one herd to another, 

 but an animal may be infected for a long time and may be spreading tubercle 

 bacilli in large quantities without showing external signs of disease. It is only 

 by the use of the tuberculin test that such animals can be detected and danger 

 from them avoided. Therefore, it has not been possible, until recently, for 

 farmers to avoid the infection of their herds, hov/ever great their care may 

 have been, however good the sanitary condition of their buildings, however 

 well tlie cattle were fed and cared for, as it is only by the detection and ex- 

 elusion of the first infected animal that this could be done and this was impossi- 

 ble without the tuberculin test. Hence, the condition that exists is, to a very 

 large extent, one for which herd owners are not responsible, and the extinction 

 of tuberculosis among cattle is demanded for the protection of the livestock 

 industry and the public health, that is, on public grounds, it is but right 

 that the public should share the cost and the loss of this work. 



While the introduction of bovine tuberculosis and a large part of its distri- 

 bution have been unavoidable, the same excuse cannot now be offered for the 

 herd owner who knowingly propagates the disease by permitting it to continue 

 in his herd or by sellirrg infected cattle. 



It would seem to be just for the State to offer to eradicate tuberculosis from 

 herds at public expense and to hold this offer open for a certain time, say ten 

 years, and afterwards require herd owners to keep their herds free from tuber- 

 culosis at their n\\-n expense. The cost to the State under this plan might be 

 from $3,000,000 to $4,000,000, distributed over a period of ten years. The advan- 

 tage of the plan w^ould be that that it would provide a "limit to the period 

 during which this expense would continue; it would permit all owners of diseas- 

 ed Iierds to free their herds from infection with little loss and it would place the 

 responsibility for further losses from tuberculosis where they would belong. 



In such a pLsn the nnimals not showing external signs of tuberculosis sliould 

 be disposed of through the slaughter house, subject to competent meat inspec- 

 tion. The modified Danish system might be used, as originally described and 



