Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1924-05-01
Animal Comfort
Being Increased
Everything Is Being Done in
Most Practical Ways to
Prevent Suffering.
ePrepsrsd BY Y. ynItsa STATE Department

y
live animals the United States De
partment of Agriculture has on vari-
Gus occasions been accused of prac-
ticlng unnecessary cruelty. Also it
has been blamed for permitting cruel
ty in the handling of animals, for
example in transportation to market.
Such accusations are without reason
able foundation, says DR.. John R.
Mohler, chief Of the bureau of animal
Industry. who maintains that the de-
partment's efforts have resulted in the
prevention of suffering by millions of
animals and human beings.
In carrying on experimental work,
particularly that which has for its OBJ
ject the control of diseases, it is
necessary to use a few animals, but
in most cases the suffering Of the sub
tects is negligible if there is any at
all. If the DIRECTORS had had their
way the suffering among animals and
human beings from many causes
would now be infinitely greater than
1t is. A few examples should make
this clear to those who wish to see.
Clean Up Texas Fever.
Previous to 1906 the cattle Of our
southern states, an area comprising
about 10000 square miles, were af-
fected with Texas fever, disease
which annually killed large numbers
and which so sickened the others that
they became poor and were relatively
improbable as producers of meat or
milk. Scientists Of the department,
by the use of a few cattle, discovered
that the disease was carried from an
imal to animal by the blood-sucking
cattle tick, and the natural conclusion
was that the eradication of the tick
would mean the disappearance of
Texas fever. This proved to be the
case. The department almost imme-
diately undertook the stupendous task
of cleaning out the tick from the
herds Of the South, and already nearly
three-fourths of the vast territory has
been cleared of it by dipping the cat
tie at certain intervals in an arsenical
solution and keeping them off infested
pastures until the ticks there have
died AS a result, millions of cattle
have been permitted to live in health
and comfort and to provide whole
some food.
However, the greatest benefit from
this discovery of the part played by
the tick was reflected in the advance
made in human medicine. The knowl-
edge that diseases could be carried by
insects was new to medicine and i'm
mediately led medical men to consider
the possibility that the spread of some
of the battling diseases of mankind
might be explained in this way. AS
q result of investigations in which two
physicians deliberately sacrificed their
own lives the dreaded yellow fever
was found to be carried by certain
kind of mosquito and control meas
ures were developed which have prac-
tically wiped this plague off the face
of the earth. In the same manner it
was found possible to control malaria,
also carried by a mosquito, and
number of other devastating diseases
have been found to be insect-borne.
Was the sacrifice Of a few animals,
and even human beings, worth while?
It seems a needless question.
Worked on Dogs and Sheep.
Within the past few years a scien-
fist Of the department, working on
the control Of internal parasites of do
nestle animals, in which work he used
dogs and sheep principally, found that
a certain chemical was effective In re-
moving hookworms. His discovery is
proving a great comfort to many
: thousands of animals, perhaps mil
lions. But more medical investiga-
tors took it up and reports received
from almost every corner of the world
show that this cheap chemical is the
most effective treatment now known
for fighting the hookworm disease of
human beings which weakens and de-
presses millions of people. Paying no
attention to the human family, was it
right to inconvenience a few dogs and
sheep to save millions Of their kind
from an insidious pest against which
they were helpless? One can imagine
a mighty chorus of barks and beats
of approval.
EdCu year, particularly Oh bU0
western ranges, thousands Of cattle,
sheep and horses are killed or made
very sick as a result of eating poison
Gus plants In order to determine the
kinds and quantities of the plants
which produce these terrible effects
the Department of Agriculture has
found it necessary to feed suspected
plants to a few animals. Some of
these unlucky animals suffer and
few of them die, but each year the
millions of live stock on the ranches
Of the west are safer from poisoning,
for bulletins issued by the government
inform the ranchers Of the dangerous
plants so that they may eradicate them
or keep their f1ocks and herds away
from places where they grow.
The list of benefits from animal ex-
perimentation could be heightened al
most indefinitely, and in many in
stances more than the indirect eco
nomic benefit has accrued to the
human race. The battle against ami
NAL tuberculosis has cost the lives of
many of our domestic creatures, but
there are now large areas free of this
age-old plague and new counties are
being added to the free list at fire.
quent intervals. Need we ask If the