The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1908-04-23
SUGGESTIONS ON THE SUBJECT
or TUBERCW OSLS IN CATTLE

DIR. G. A. johnson, government In
spector In charge, in Sioux City, has a
valuable paper on the disposition of
tuberculosis cattle in the current issue
OF the Iowa Health Bulletin. He says
in part:
tuberculosis lies in the fact that most
men cannot understand or will not be-
lieve that an animal that eats and
drinks heartily, that looks and acts as
II healthy, that row or lays on nesh
readily, can be seriously diseased. yet
such Is the case. Animals apparently
healthy are often ~tuberculous. when
the average stock raiser comprehends
this, the solution of the problem OF the
control and eradication Of this baneful
scourge will be more easily solved. ''
10 Different. pr' a
Acute diseases produce a train of
symptoms showing clerrly that the ami
mails are sick. and the usually large
and rapid death rate demonstrates the
necessity of prompt action. With
tuberculosis it is different. The dis
ease progresses very slowly and. the
symptoms are practically invisible eX-
cept in the last stages. In the one case
all understand the animal Is diseased
while in the other, the average man
does not comprehend the condition and
10 lOdlh " DCAlCNC LAG SN
diseased.
with our present knowledge of
tuberculosis there is but one accurate
method for diagnosing the disease In
the live animal, and that Is n tuber
culin test. The testing of animals Is
a comparatively simple process In itself,
but it leads to the very serious n I'M
portant question: What shall be done
with the diseased animals after they
have been discovered p The two general
plans that have been n now are be-
ing generally followed may be termed
the slaughter method II the Bang
method
Slaughter Report.
THE slaughter method has been va
riously modified at different times and
places, put the one central principle
has been that the diseased cattle must
be destroyed within certain periods, &C
cording to the conditions prevailing at
the time and place OF the test. In
some instances cattle are appraised at
a valuation of healthy stock. They are
then destroyed by the state, burned oil
buried, and a certain percentage Of the
appraised valuation Is paid by the
state.
I'm other instances the cattle are APP
praised as above and then sold for
slaughter, subject to post norton in
sDtClIOIl, lHe BldlN IHdhlll6 up NiN w
hciency between the fixed percentage
of the appraised value and what the
cattle bring for meat. In still other in
stances the owner is compelled to sell
his affected cattle for slaughter, subject
to post norton inspection without any
reimbursement from the state. In the
latter case the owenr receives only the
meat value of the affected cattle. All
these methods are more or less waste
full and unsatisfactory, especially when
dealing with valuable breeding animals.
II has been demonstrated that the dis
ease usually progresses so slowly that
most animals will live from W o to
Ave years after becoming infected. es-
pecially when the cattle are kept un-
der favorable conditions rather than
under conditions favorable to the
tubercle bacilli.
During most of the lifetime Of
t~uberculous animals they are capable
of breeding and the cows will raise