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Anchlostomiasis, commonly known as 'Hookworm disease', is found to be
most widely spread amongst dogs in the south of India and undoubtedly seriously
affects their health, particularly imported dogs.
IV.—MISCELLANEOUS WORK.
36. Forest Department— Owing to the Moplah rebellion and consequent loss
of Government elephants and buffaloes, the post of Assistant Veterinary Inspector
in the Forest Department at Nilambur was not filled during the second half of the
year.
Mr. Mascarenhas, whose designation has been changed to Inspector of Livestock,
with Headquarters at Calicut, and the two Assistant Veterinary Inspectors at
Mount Stuart and Gudalur lent from this department, continued in their respective
billets.
37. Criminal.—The services of this department were not requisitioned by the
Police as often as in the previous year—let us hope because crime was not so common.
Only 43 post-mortems were made in cases suspected of criminal poisoning and 7 7
animals examined for malicious injury.
38. The Chemical Examiner reports that he dealt with the viscera of 56
animals suspected for criminal poisoning, of which 32 were sent in by members of
this department, and he detected poison in 20 of them.
Tweuty-eight prosecutions for criminal poisoning were made, but convictions
obtained in only six of them.
As usual, the most common poisons used were Yellow Oleander and Arsenic.
39. Toxicology.—Several interesting cases of accidental poisoning in cattle by
the plant Vinca pusilla were reported from Coimbatore. North Arcot and Tinnevelly
districts. No description of the poisonous properties of this plant, which belongs to
the Periwinkle family, has been found, but they appear to be well known to the ryots,
who prescribe tamarind juice as an antidote.
40. Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.—Convictions in 3,304 cases
were obtained under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act in this Presidency,
excluding Madras City. In 732 cases the animals concerned were sent to veteri-
nary infirmaries for treatment, which is a slight improvement on the percentage of
eases sent the previous year.
41. Municipal.—For
some years past it has been the policy of this department
to try and convince municipalities in this Presidency of their obligations in the
matter of providing expert veterinary advice for the purpose of looking after the
health of their animals and at the same time protecting their human population from
the ill-effects of contact between the latter and diseased animals.
42. It has always been maintained that the correct way of doing this is by each
municipality appointing its own Veterinary Officer, and it is pleasing to be able to
record that the Ootacamund Municipal Council have recently given others the lead
by appointing as their whole-time Veterinary Officer an Assistant lent to them by
this department for a period of three years to begin with.
43 This officer does their Meat Inspection, maintains their animal mortality
register, attends to outbreaks of contagious disease occurring within the municipality
and sees to the proper disposal of carcases, is responsible for the health of the
municipal livestock, gives expert evidence in cruelty and other criminal cases, and
is available for any other veterinary work of a public nature whenever required.
44. It is to bo hoped that some of the other large municipalities will see the
advantages of the above and arrange to appoint their own Veterinary Officer for the
different duties enumerated instead of using the staff of this department in their
spare time.
45. In the meantime 11 more municipal councils have adopted the by-laws
proposed by this department under which the owners of animals are responsible for
reporting deaths to the Council, which sends on reports of contagious disease to this
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