(2)
four donkey stallions were transferred free of charge by the Civil Veterinary
Department and deducting one casualty in Peshawar there are now eight at
work, viz.:—
Peshawar
Kohat
Bannu
Dera Ismail Khan
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...
...
...
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...
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...
...
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...
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3
2
2
1
The average cost of maintenance was Rs. 121 against Rs. 113 in the previous
year, and in Dera Ismail Khan was much less than in Peshawar or Kohat.
Very little castration work was done by Veterinary Assistants except in Bannu.
5. Owing to the good rainfall and abundance of fodder the year was an
unusually favourable one for cattle, and Captain Trydell remarks that since 1896
he has never seen them in better condition. There were only two serious
epidemics of anthrax and rinderpest which were successfully treated by serum
inoculation, and it is satisfactory that nearly all the Veterinary Assistants have
now been instructed in this system of treatment.
6. The Chief Commissioner is pleased to learn that a genuine effort
has at last been made to treat cattle disease by the opening of Veterinary
Hospitals during the year at Peshawar (with a branch at Mardan), Bannu and
Dera Ismail Khan, and has read Captain Trydell's remarks on the working of
these institutions with much interest. The Peshawar Hospital seems to have done
a great deal of useful work, for which credit is due to the Municipal Secretary
(Mr. Roe) and the Veterinary Assistant in charge. He also agrees with Captain
Trydell that the main difficulty at present is to obtain the services of qualified
Veterinary Assistants, and he is glad to observe that during the year all District
Boards readily accepted his suggestion to endow scholarships tenable by local
students in the Lahore Veterinary College, that Kohat, Bannu and Dera Ismail
Khan have already selected and despatched students to hold these scholarships,
and that Hazara and Peshawar undertake to do so as soon as suitable students
are forthcoming.
7. The Chief Commissioner also accepts Captain Trydell's views (1)
that the existing number of Veterinary Assistants—8 for the Province—is
inadequate, and should be increased, and (2) that the present rates of pay are
insufficient to attract good men, for whom there is a wide field of employment in
other provinces or as private practitioners. The question of reorganizing the
Subordinate Service on the lines suggested in the Government of India
(Revenue and Agricultural Department) Circular No. 4, dated 21st May 1904,
is now receiving attention, and it is hoped that if some assistance can be
obtained from Imperial Funds, a satisfactory scheme will be worked out during
the present year.
8. In conclusion the Chief Commissioner desires to thank Captain
Trydell for the efforts he has made, in the face of many difficulties, to improve
and extend the work of his Department during the year especially in the
direction of the treatment of cattle.
ORDER.—Ordered, that a copy of the Report and Review be submitted
to the Government of India in the Revenue and Agricultural Department, the
Inspector-General, Civil Veterinary Department, and the Superintendent, Civil
Veterinary Department, North Punjab, and that copies be circulated for
information.
By order of the Hon'ble the Chief Commissioner and Agent
to the Governor-General, North-West Frontier Province,
M. F. O'DWYER,
Rev. and Finl. Secy. to the Chief Commissioner,
North-West Frontier Province.