542 LEGISLATION 



there no inspection at this period to guard against various pests being 

 introduced along with the stock, but some cranks would have brought 

 some strange "cattle" into the country. Thus one proposal was to 

 introduce foxes from England, so that the noble sport of fox-hunting 

 might be indulged in. This was actually done in Victoria, and many 

 Australians rued it afterwards. At a later date it was suggested to 

 introduce the Arctic fox to cope with the rabbit, and at the same time 

 to furnish valuable furs. Some one actually introduced bears into 

 Canterbury, but fortunately they were not liberated. 



One effect of the unrestricted importation of live stock was the 

 prevalence of scab and other serious diseases among the sheep flocks 

 of the country, and the seriousness and widespread nature of the 

 trouble is shown by the passing of preventive and protective laws in 

 every provincial district. The first of these appears to be the " Scab 

 Ordinance" of 1849, passed by the Province of New Munster. This 

 was "An Act to prevent the extension of the infectious disease called 

 the Scab, as well as the disease called the Influenza or Catarrh, in 

 Sheep or Lambs." 



The history of this legislation may be outlined concisely as follows. 

 The Wellington Provincial Council repealed the above Act in 1854, 

 and passed another "Scab and Catarrh Act." In 1856 a third Act 

 was passed; in 1862 there was a " Scab, Catarrh and Sheep Inspectors 

 Act," followed by an Amendment Act in 1864. In the Session of 

 Parliament of 1868 it was stated that all. flocks in the Wellington 

 district were free from Scab, except one at Castle Point, and another 

 at Waikaraka, which were only slightly affected. 



The Taranaki Provincial Council passed "An Ordinance to prevent 

 the extension of the contagious disease in Sheep called Scab," re- 

 enacteditin 1863, again in 1864 and 1866, and an Amending Ordinance 

 in 1875. 



The Auckland Provincial Council in 1854 passed "An Act to 

 prevent the Extension among Sheep of the Disease called the Scab," 

 a second Act in 1856, and a third in 1868. 



The Otago Provincial Council passed a "Scab and Catarrh Bill" 

 in 1854, an amending Act in 1856, and a " Sheep Ordinance Amend- 

 ment" in i 86 i. 



In the case of scab caused by the presence of a mite (Psoroptes 

 communis, var. ovis) the precautionary measures taken were successful 

 in stamping out the disease, and by 1880 it had quite disappeared 

 from the country. But preventive legislation was continued until 

 1906, and a "Sheep Act" was passed by the Colonial Parliament 

 in 1890 "to provide for eradication and prevention of parasitic and 

 other Diseases in Sheep." 



