Proceedings of the Hon'ble the Chief Commissioner and Agent to the Governor-General, North-West Frontier
Province, No. 1367 G., dated 8th August 1902.
READ—
The Report on the working of the Provincial Civil Veterinary Department for the year ending 31st March 1902.
This report has been furnished by the Superintendent, Civil Veteri-
nary Department, North Punjab, who has been appointed Veterinary Officer
of this Province. The section dealing with the Imperial Civil Veterinary
Department will be dealt with separately by the Inspector-General of that
Department. This review deals only with the Provincial Report, which is
confined to the working of District Board stallions and to the treatment
of cattle disease.
2. The number of pony stallions at stud work was seven—all Arabs—
as in the previous year, of which six were the property of the District Boards
and one was lent by the Civil Veterinary Department to Hazara. Coverings
showed a slight increase from 362 to 387, but the number of foals dropped
from the 362 coverings was only 98. At this rate of progress it will be
long before any appreciable improvement appears in the stock of this Province.
The Bannu District Board maintain no pony stallions, and as the need
for this class must be as great there as in other districts, the matter will be
brought to the notice of that body. Except Peshawar, which already main-
tains three pony stallions, the remaining districts are not at present in a
position to increase their expenditure on horse-breeding, but something might
be done in the way of encouraging some of the wealthier Khans, who
necessarily keep up many horses for their followers, to substitute sound and
good working Arab stallions for the inferior countrybred sires they now
employ. The average cost of a pony stallion was Rs. 260 against Rs. 311
in the previous year, the decrease being due to the cheapness of forage.
3. Mule-breeding appears to be in as backward a condition as horse-
breeding, as only 35 mares were covered last year, and only two mules were
dropped. There were three donkey stallions at work during the year under
review, of which one belonged to the District Board, Dera Ismail Khan, and
two had been lent to the Peshawar District Board by the Civil Veterinary
Department. The former was employed for mule-breeding, and covered 38
mares, the latter two for donkey-breeding, and covered only 26 donkey mares,
as they were late in getting to work. In this case too the District Board
animals merely supplement those of the Imperial Civil Veterinary Department,
and without more information as to local conditions than is furnished in the
present Report, it is difficult to say whether the District Boards are doing as
much as they should to encourage mule and donkey-breeding. The system
pursued in Peshawar of lending donkey stallions to the District Boards, who
would pay the cost of keep, &c., might be extended to other districts, and if
it is found that there is likely to be a regular demand for the services of these
animals, the District Boards should be encouraged to purchase their own.
The cost of keep, &c., is not high—averaging Rs. 113 per donkey.
4. The Superintendent's remarks in paragraphs 58 and 63 show that the
supervision of the Subordinate Veterinary Staff is merely nominal, and that in
the absence of Veterinary Hospitals, the itinerant treatment of cattle disease is
not likely to be effective. As during the year Veterinary-Lieutenant Trydell had
charge of the Civil Veterinary Department of the whole Punjab, it is not sur-
prising that he was unable to find time for supervising this branch of the work.
The only check therefore over the work of the Veterinary Assistants was a purely
paper one, which of course cannot be satisfactory. Now that the charge of the
South Punjab is held by a separate officer, it is hoped that Veterinary-Lieute-
nant Trydell will be able to give some of his time to supervising the work of
the Veterinary Assistants, in connection with cattle disease, castration, &c., in
this Province, and to opening, in communication with Deputy Commissioners,