200 IOWA DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE 



horse breeding industry of the state, and following rapidly upon the 

 heels of the Wisconsin and Iowa laws similar action was taken in the 

 States of Illinois, Minnesota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Indiana, 

 Idaho, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, etc. The one good feature of the Iowa 

 law, which we believe to be the correct principle, is that it does not 

 recognize any other than pure bred stallions, while in most of the other 

 states named certificates are issued to cross-bred, grades and mongrels, 

 as well as pure bred. However, the Iowa law is lamentably weak in 

 four particulars, which should be remedied by the Thirty-fourth General 

 Assembly: 



First, The Iowa law does not require the examination of the stallion 

 by a competent veterinarian before the state certificate is issued, as 

 required in almost all other states. Under our present law the secretary 

 of the department of agriculture must issue the state certificate, regard- 

 less of the condition of the stallion, if upon examination the certificate 

 of registration issued by the stud book association in which such stallion 

 has been registered is found to be correct. By reason of the rigid exam- 

 ination required in other states before state certificate is issued, and the 

 barring of all animals from public service, regardless of breeding, show- 

 ing signs of any infectious, contagious, or transmissible disease or un- 

 soundness, Iowa has become the dumping ground for a great many of 

 these unsound stallions. The Iowa law should be so amended that the 

 presence of any of the following named diseases would disqualify a stal- 

 lion or jack from public service: Cataract, amaurosis (glass eye) ; peri- 

 odic opthalmia (moon blindness) ; laryngael hemiplegia (raring or whist- 

 ling) ; pulmonary emphysema (heaves, broken wind) ; chorea (St. Vitus 

 dance, crampiness, shivering, string-halt) ; bone spavin; ringbone, nav- 

 icular disease, bog spavin; curb, with curvy formation of hock; glanders, 

 farcy; maladie du coit; urethral gleet; mange; melanosis. 



Second, The law should provide for an annual renewal fee as a precau- 

 tion against the misuse of the state certificate by unscrupulous parties 

 and to enable the department of agriculture to keep the list of stallions 

 active and up to date. This will be absolutely necessary if the amend- 

 ment with reference to the soundness of the animal is passed. The re- 

 newal clause will bring about a more rigid enforcement of the law. 



Third, Section four of the law, with reference to advertising for pub- 

 lic service a stallion for which a state certificate has not been issued, 

 should be so amended as to include all newspaper advertisements as well 

 as hand bills or posters. 



Fourth, The general provisions of the law should be so amended to 

 include jacks as well as stallions. 



If the law is amended to require the examination of stallions a clause 

 should be inserted providing for a maximum fee to be charged by the 

 veterinarian making such examination, and a further provision that in 

 the event of such enactment the examination shall include all stallions 

 for which state certificates have been issued and are still being offered 

 for public service within the state, said examination to be made before 

 renewal is issued. 



