The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1911-01-06
Tuberculin Test for Cattle.

More than six hundred persons from
all over the state were in Madison on
Dec. 22nd to take the examination be-
fore the live stock sanitary board to
qualify them to administer the tuber-
culin test to cattle. 1t was the largest
gathering of the kind ever assembled
for similar purpose, and the live stock
sanitary board was amazed at its pro-
portions. From every portion of the
state came candidates to enlist in the
warfare against tuberculosis.
Some provisions of the law requiring
the test are commented on by a YER.
non county farmer as follows:
Some have the impression that the
cows must be tested, or they can no
longer patronize the creamery or cheese
factory. This is a mistake. The only
law concerning patronizing the factor
les is: You must not take to factory
milk testing less than three per cent
butter fat, nor cream testing less than
eighteen per cent butter fat, or you are
liable to fine and imprisonment as pro-
vided by law.
Others think the law applies to those
retailing and wholesaling milk, but it
does not. Some of the larger cities
Lacrosse, Milwaukee and others, have
laws that milk shall be sold only from
cows tested for tuberculosis, but this is
purely city ordinance that Viroqua or
any city can pass, but, is not state
law. But the same three per cent and
eighteen per cent state law applies to
all milk dealers, even if they only sell
one quart per day.
Others think they cannot kill and sell
the meat unless the animal has been
tested, but they can. The law does not
apply to animals that are being sold for
slaughter, or for short-feeding period.
The law is not very plain in some re-
spects, but it seems to be the intent to
cover only the buying and selling for
dairy purposes. Why this should be so
I don't understand, for infected meat
is certainly just as unwholesome and
dangerous as the milk and butter from
dairy cows. Some of our best scien-
lists claim that bovine tuberculosis is
not transmissible to the human family,
but if it is not we would prefer to have
meat and milk from healthy animals,
and the only known way to be sure of
this is to apply the tuberculin test.
While the law does not compel anyone
to test unless they want to sell, yet
think every farmer and dairyman should
be interested enough in the health of
his family and cattle to go to the ex-
pense Of test. Then you would at
least be safe and satisfied. / believe it
is only short time until the law will
compel everyone to test. This would
be the better way, for if. we had the
disease it could all be stamped out at
one time, but now some will have to
test, so we can never tell when the
disease is stamped out.
The law provides ways for the dis
posal of animals that react to the tu-
berculin test. One very bad feature of
the law is there is no limit to what the
parties doing the testing can charge.
However, this may be rectifed later,
for the work is not difficult to do. There
isn't neighborhood but what has one
| or more dairymen or farmers who with
little reading and practice can apply
the test just as we'll as veterinarian.
While it takes just as long to test one
or two animals as it does to test twenty,
yet if parties in town with from one to
three head can get several together at
one place, the tester can=do the work
very much cheaper for all.