DIVISION OF ANIMAL HEALTH 

 Mabel Owen, Director 



With a professional field staff of four Veterinarians, four Animal 

 Inspectors and six Poultry Inspectors, plus an administrative and record keeping 

 staff of seven, the Division of Animal Health monitors, controls and works to 

 eradicate a number of diseases having major impacts on our domestic food, fiber 

 and companion animals. The work is both industry and consumer protective as it 

 assures the former a sound and marketable product and the latter a safe, cost- 

 effective and readily available food supply. The Division works under certain 

 sections of Chapter 129 of the General Laws, most of which address specific 

 diseases by way of market surveillance, import requirements, vaccinations, sale 

 restrictions and other means of control. The FY84 Budget for Animal Health was 

 in the amount of $600,635.52, broken down in 12 subsidiaries. The sum of 

 $451,192.00 (01 and 02) was directly allocated to personnel costs. 



BRUCELLOSIS : 



Massachusetts, for a second year, is rated "Free" in this important bovine 

 and porcine disease. Found in man as Undulant Fever, brucellosis accounts for 

 severe animal losses in other sections of this country. All of New England, as 

 well as the neighboring states of New York and Pennsylvania are totally free of 

 this disease, an important factor to the entire area's dairying industry. 

 Remaining disease- free requires a strong, on-going program of milk and 

 slaughter plant testing, the vaccination of almost 15,000 female calves every year 

 as well as the 45-60 day post-entry retesting of all imported cattle. The main- 

 tenance of "Free" status also requires the continuing cooperation of all owners, 

 breeders, dealers, producers, veterinarians and regulatory personnel. It 

 receives the Division's highest priority. 



TUBERCULOSIS : 



Since small pockets of this disease still exist in humans the world over, 

 especially in urban areas, tuberculosis remains, even in these modern times, a 

 disease of importance. Our best protection is the availability of milk from 



TB-free herds. Massachusetts reached the status of "Accredited Free" in 

 Tuberculosis in FY84. It has been more than six years since a reactor was found 

 here. Continuing surveillance against the disease is most necessary. All dairy 

 cows are tested, at state expense, once e^ery three years. Many are actually 

 tested annually, at owner expense, in order to satisfy certain out-of-state 

 markets. The testing program itself has been placed on a town-wide rather than 

 individual herd basis. This has already accomplished material savings, in both 

 personnel hours and mileage. 



SWINE DISEASE : 



We believe Massachusetts to be free of Swine Pseudorabies. Contributing to 

 this was the passage of a law requiring all imported breeding swine to be cer- 

 tified free of this disease. At the end of FY84 swine brucellosis was known to 

 be present on three premises, all of which were under eradication agreement. 

 The Federal Garbage-cooking Law was fully implemented in FY84 and resulted in 

 several non-compliance hearings with guilty findings and fines in at least two 

 cases. The Division of Animl Health and Food and Agriculture Commissioner 

 Frederic Winthrop were instrumental in obtaining several important concessions 

 under this law. 



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