15
ANNUAL ADMINISTRATION REPORT OF THE CIVIL VETERI-
NARY DEPARTMENT, BOMBAY PRESIDENCY, FOR
THE YEAR 1919-20.
Lieut.-Colonel G. K. Walker was in charge of the Department from the
1st April to the 16th July, and Mr. G. Taylor from the 17th July to the end of
the year. The Superintendent was on tour for 153 days (Lieut.-Colonel
Walker 28 and Mr. Taylor 125) and travelled 11,636 miles by rail, 935 miles
by road and 380 miles by sea. He visited 16 districts, inspected 36 dispensaries
and 11 stallion stands once or more. The Northcote Cattle Farm Chharodi
was visited twice before it was transferred to the Agricultural Department.
The Superintendent conducted the supplementary examination of the
Bombay Veterinary College in April and served as a Member of the Board of
Examiners in November.
He attended the meeting of the Board of Agriculture held at Pusa
in December.
He also served as a Member of the Board of Examiners at the Madras
Veterinary College in March. In the course of his tours he visited the seat
of several outbreaks of disease and checked inoculation work.
2. Mr. J. D. Buxy held the post of Deputy Superintendent and Personal
Assistant to the Superintendent throughout the year. He was 53 days on tour
and travelled 4,266 miles by rail and 574 miles by road. He visited 6 districts
and inspected 15 dispensaries and 6 stallion stands. He attended several out-
breaks of equine and bovine contagious disease in the course of his tours and
dealt with an outbreak of rinderpest in the Deolali Cantonment.
The work at headquarters is daily increasing and it is very difficult for
him to leave his headquarters and make prolonged tours.
I.—VETERINARY INSTRUCTION.
3. The usual practical instruction in field work was given to the newly
joined Veterinary Assistants, but no post-graduate Course was provided at
the Bombay Veterinary College.
Two very successful meetings of the staff were held at Poona and Broach,
at which papers on professional subjects were read and discussed.
Such
meetings are very beneficial as encouraging a keener interest on the part of the
men in their professional duties and it is hoped that it will be possible to hold
them more frequently in future.
II.—TREATMENT OF DISEASE.
Table II.
4. Contagious disease was reported from all the
districts and from the City of Bombay.
The recorded number of deaths was 8,647 against 10,550 last year. The
decrease in the mortality was particularly marked under rinderpest.
The Veterinary Assistants attended 1,165 outbreaks of which 110 were
also attended by the Veterinary Inspectors. Of this number 951 were reported
to the staff by the revenue officials.
Equine contagious disease.
5. Four cases of glanders were reported from Bombay City. Surra was
reported from five districts and from Bombay City. There were 154 deaths
against 149 in the last year. Thana and Kolaba were the most severely
affected districts.
This disease was almost entirely confined to tonga lines and the outbreaks
were only brought to light on periodic inspections by the staff. Every endeavour
was made to instruct the owners in the nature of the disease, the manner in
which it spreads and methods of prevention. As a result of the precautionary
measures taken at the Chimbur Pinjrapole for horses that institution remained
free from the disease for the first time for a number of years.