due to the excellence of the record keeping in the licensed Pet Shops where 

 most of such birds are sold. This ability to trace every exposed bird is 

 of the utmost importance in the prevention here of a disease which easily 

 has the capability of wiping out the poultry industry. 



GUARD DOG BUSINESS LICENSING 



A law requiring the licensing of guard dog businesses was passed late 

 in fy 1982. Rules and Regulations for this have been proposed and hearings 

 are scheduled in fy 1983. As with Pet Shops and Riding Stables, the Guard 

 Dog business premises will be inspected by agents of the Massachusetts 

 Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the Animal Rescue League 

 of Boston. 



POULTRY PROGRAM 



With severely depleted field personnel in the poultry division, much 

 of the work load had to be prioritized. As a result, disease blood-testing 

 was completed at the expense of store inspections , which are done to check 

 the weight and quality of all eggs being sold and ensure proper adherence 

 to the quality control mandated by the use of the "Massachusetts Grown and 

 Fresher" logo. The two Poultry Inspectors hired in the last month of fy 1982 

 strengthened the store inspections and resulted in an immediate rise in both 

 the number of stores visited and the quality of the products offered. Since 

 Massachusetts exports a high number of carefully-bred chicks each year, 

 (1.6 million in fy 1982), blood-testing and disease freedom in the breeder 

 flocks is extremely important to the state's agricultural economy. With 

 the Division at full strength for the first time in two years we expect to 

 be able to maintain our present high calibre of disease freedom and also 

 show an improvement in the amount and quality of the store egg inspection. 



RABIES CONTROL 



Under this program we initiate the quarantining of any animal which 

 has bitten a person. With rabies recently confirmed in ground animals 

 in Massachusetts for the first time in many years, we have noted a greatly 

 increased public and media interest in this disease as well as animal 

 vaccinations against it. 



IN CONCLUSION 



The goal of this Division is good health, especially in the areas where 

 human health is also involved, directly or indirectly. That we have had 

 success in the total control of or eradication of some very important diseases 

 is due primarily to the effort and dedication of all Division of Animal 

 Health employees, both administrative and professional. We are also 

 indebted to the excellent cooperation this office has always had from the 

 Massachusetts' farming community, agents of the MSPCA, our federal counter- 

 parts at USDA-APHIS, the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and the Massa- 

 chusetts Farm Bureau Federation. We have also had invaluable support from within 

 the Department of Food and Agriculture, the Secretary of Environmental Affairs, 

 the Legislature and the Executive Office of the Commonwealth. We are deeply 

 appreciative for the help each has offered and feel the state's present status, 

 in animal health, reflects this joint effort. 



The budget appropriated for the Division for FY 1982 was $458,197. 



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