East Coast Fkv k,h. 207 



complet*»ly freed from the disease, those districts having benefited 

 most in which the policy of tlie Cjovernment lias been most unani- 

 inously supported by the resident farnjers, and there is every i-eason 

 to hitfx' thiit the eftbrts which are being made in this colony foi- 

 stamping out the disease will be ultimately cri)wned with success. 



Natal. 



The Natal outbreak, which was an oft-shoot of the outbreak in 

 Swaziland, supplies us with an object-lesson " to point a moral and 

 adorn a tale," and cojisirleration of the progress made by the <lisease in 

 this colony serves to emphasise the dangers which often follow a policy 

 of flecentralisation of control during the course of an epidenjic of 

 disease. Invaded at a later date than either the Transvaal or Rhodesia, 

 when the di.sease appeared the Natal veterinary department, guided by 

 the experience gained by a study of the efforts of the other two colo- 

 nies to free themselves frt)m infection, adopted a policy \\ Inch promised 

 well and which could be readily followed in a country in which the 

 disease was confined to one comparatively small area. This was the 

 removal of all infected herds to clean veld through a series of tempera- 

 ture camps placed in charge of trained ofiicers, and for the successful 

 progress which they made the Natal veterinai'y department are deseiv- 

 ing of all praise. While this work was proceeding the department 

 supervised the movement of over 12,000 head of cattle, and succeeded in 

 clearing a large portion of the infected aj*ea without accident. In an 

 evil hour, however, the Natal native rebellion broke out, and the good 

 results achieved by many months of patient efibi-t were undone in the 

 coui-se of a few weeks. Alarmed by the rebellion, refugees trekked in 

 to the Vryheid townlands from the moie distant aiul infected p<;)i-ti<jns 

 of the district, moving thi'ough the cleared infected areas and spreading 

 infection as thej' travelled, while the militar}' exigencies of the situa- 

 tion necessitated the use of cattle for transport purposes in and around 

 the localities known to have been previously infected with the disease. 

 Had iKjthing more than this happened the consequences would have 

 been (piite serious enough, but there was unfortunately worse to come, 

 and that came when loot cattle captured in Zululand were sold by 

 public auction, and in this way infection was spread through a lai-ge 

 section of coastal belt of the coloiiy which had hitherto remained 

 clean, and which might otherwise have remained clean till this day 

 if the advice of the veterinai'v department had been listened to. After 

 this occurred, and the riisease had established itself in areas where the 

 moving of cattle through temperature camps to clean veld became 

 peculiarly difficult on account of the unsympathetic attitude of neigh- 

 bouring farmers, this policy was modified by the adoption of a stamping 

 out polic}' applied to localised outbreaks of small extent, and about the 

 same time slaughter poles were estaVjlished 0)i the larger infected areas, 

 to which animals were removed and killed. Shortage of capital, how- 

 ever, rendered it necessary for the Government to leave a good deal of 

 this work to private enterprise, and as they were moved at the same 



