REPORT OF THE Montana State Livestock Sanitary WM Board AND State Veterinarian FOR YEARS Independent Publishing Company, State Printers and Binders, Helena, Montana REPORT OF THE Montana State Livestock Sanitary Board AND State Veterinarian FOR YEARS i9m#h ,9,° 'INDEPENDENT PUBLISHING, COMPANY, HELENA, MONTANA.' State Printers and Binders. MONTANA LIVESTOCK SANITARY BOARD. Dr. Wm. Treacy, Chairman, Helena, Mont. T. C. Power, Member, Helena, Mont. James T. Stanford, Member, Great Falls, Mont. Dr. M. E. Knowles, Secretary, Helena, Mont. Chief Deputy State Veterinarian. Dr. E. D. Nash, Helena, Mont. Special Deputy State Veterinarian. Dr. A. H. Cheney, Miles City, Mont. Resident Deputy State Veterinarians. Dr. A. D. K'nowles, Livingston, Mont. Dr. G. E. Thomas, Billings, Mont. Dr. F. S. Gray, Big Timber, Mont. Dr. A. J. Dufrene, Glendive, Mont. Dr. F. C. Swaney, Havre, Mont. Dr. F. T. Hull, Conrad, Mont. Dr. C. F. Leslie, Kalispell, Mont. Dr. L. A. Nutting, Great Falls, Mont. Dr. Howard Welch, Bozeman, Mont. Dr. W. J. Taylor, Bozeman, Mont. Dr. H. C. Gardiner, Anaconda, Mont. Dr. R. A. Dennis, Lewistown, Mont. Dr. J. R. Ward, Missoula, Mont. Dr. W. C. Orr, Dillon, Mont. Dr. C. J. Willgans, Miles City, Mont. Dr. Z. C. Bovd, Helena, Mont. Chemist and Bacteriologist to Livestock Sanitary Board. Dr. Emil Starz, Helena, Mont. Clerk and Stenographer. Wm. K. Converse, Helena, Mont. Note — All Federal Veterinarians permanently residing in Montana are Deputy State Veterinarians under provision of the Livestock Sanitary Law. Report of the Chairman of the Livestock Sanitary Board* Helena, Mont., Nov. 30th, 1910. To His Excellency Governor Edwin L. Norris, Helena, Mont. Sir — We beg herewith to submit report of the State Veterin- arian for the years ending 1909 and 1910. The importance of this department to the general welfare of our commonwealth is fully understood and appreciated by you, and has had full expression from you in various discources to assemblages of our citizens throughout the State in public addresses. We trust with your broad knowledge of our general livestock industry and its needs, you may regard it as necessary to recommend a liberal appropriation for the continuance and broadening of this work. The manufacture of hog cholera vaccine in a laboratory under State control, the product to be distributed to our farmers at actual cost, will stimulate swine growing and in- sure the grower against loss from this disease. Such a labor- atory should be nearly self-sustaining; however, should it prove an expense, the investment would be profitable to our State by reason of making this industry as safe against loss as the growing of other food producing animals. The dairy herds of this State should be tested under super- vision of the State Veterinarian and adequate appropriation should be made to cover this matter of so much importance to the public health and cattle industry. Four salaried deputy veterinarians should now be employed by the Board to insure adequate protection of our livestock against disease. With this number of assistants we are as- sured that all dairy herds in the State could be tested and a reasonably rigid supervision of our dairy herds maintained. Your proclamation, supplemented by this Board's order, pro- hibiting the importation into this state of any domestic ani- mals, save when accompanied by proper official certificates including the tuberculin and mallein tests, has proven a wise expedient, undoubtedly saving our State from the wide dis- semination of tuberculosis and glanders in particular, and other communicable diseases of less commercial importance yet in- imical to our livestock industry. We beg to request that you recommend to the incoming Legislature that the Livestock Sanitary Board be given an appropriation of $15,000.00 annually for the years 191 1 and 1912. With this amount we believe it possible under econ- omical management to accomplish all the sanitary work now required and that is likely in emergency to obtain. We further submit that in the past this State has accom- plished a greater amount of work than any other State in the Union on less than half the ordinary appropriation afforded in other States. Respectfully submitted, (Signed) WM. TREACY, Chairman. Report of State Veterinarian* Helena, Montana, November 30th, 1910. To the Livestock Sanitary Board: Gentlemen — I beg- to herewith submit report of the work accomplished by -this department during the years 1909 and 1910. The subjoined tabulations will show concisely the work accomplished by this department for the two years. Since there has been but little scab existing in the State during the past two years, the greater part of our work has been devoted to the investigation of glanders among horses and tuberculosis among cattle, and particularly in watching our borders to prevent the violation of your order requiring all domestic animals coming into this State to be accompanied by proper official health certificate including the mallein and tuberculin tests. The violations of this order immediately subsequent to its issuance by your honorable Board were numerous, and much difficulty was experienced in educating transportation com- panies and intending emigrants as to the fullness of its pro- visions. At the present time there are practically no shipments coming into this State that are not properly certified, this being- largely due to the fact that on request of your Board the Federal Bureau of Animal Industry stationed veterinarians at Williston on the Great Northern, Dickinson on the North- ern Pacific, Alliance on the Burlington, and Marmouth on the Milwaukee railways, especially for the purpose of examining and testing- animals coming into this State from other States and Territories on the east and south. The work of these veterinarians has been most efficient and productive of the greatest possible good to the livestock in- dutsry of Montana. As nearly as can be estimated at this time the federal authorities alone stationed at the above points have kept out of our State about two per cent of glandered horses among- the total number presented for examination, and about three per cent of tubercular cattle among the total number of cattle presented. 5 REPORT OF THE STATE VETERINARIAN. There are in my office files, proper certifications covering 10,261 horses imported by emigrants during the past year; 5,985 cattle, and 799 swine. These shipments are widely dis- tributed throughout the entire State, so that it is impossible to estimate the damage that would have been done had the Governor's Proclamation and your order not issued. Glanders. During 1909 we destroyed 166 horses, quarantining 711 con- tact horses showing no clinical evidence of glanders. During 1910 we destroyed 117 horses "suffering from glanders and quarantined 454 contact horses. This is a material decrease from the number of horses slaughtered in 1909; a fact that is due to the cessation of railroad work in the State for the past year. The mallein testing of all horses whether they show evi- dence of glanders or not is to be unreservedly recommended to the horse owners of this State. While it is impossible with our present appropriation to negotiate the mallein testing of all contact animals, we have -where it was imperatively neces- sary tested charts with most successful and gratifying result's; both to the owner and State. Tuberculosis. There were 803 cattle tested during 1909 and 780 cattle tested in 1910. Most of these tuberculin tests were made on request of owners and not on the actual finding of clinical cases of tuberculosis. This disease has been too widely de- scribed to require attention in this regard in reports of this nature. It is perhaps sufficient to tsay that only an average of two per cent of tubercular animals show clinical symptoms or that can be diagnosed by clinical examination. It is generally conceded that all dairy herds should be tested for the protection of our public health, to say nothing of the cattle industry. It is therefore urgently recommended to your honorable Board that an effort be made by you to secure a sufficient appropriation to insure the tuberculin test- ing of all dairy cattle supplying milk to the public of this State. Hog Cholera. During 1909 an outbreak of hog cholera in the Bitter Root Valley was controlled by hog cholera serum secured through request of the Board from the Department of Agriculture. REPORT OF THE STATE VETERINARIAN. y The work accomplished in this instance was most gratifying indeed and proved conclusively the efficiency of this vacci- nation. Since Montana with her rapidly being acquired farm population is destined to become one of the large hog pro- ducing States of the Union, there should certainly be estab- lished under State control a laboratory for the production of this serum1 so> that it could be distributed to our farmers with promptness and insurance to the owner that his herd would be absolutely protected against the ravages of this disease, so disastrous in other States. Blackleg Vaccine. During 1909 this department distributed free to the cattle growers of this State 37,265 doses of blackleg vaccine, which is approximately about the same number of doses that had been distributed annually for the past ten years. During 1910 only 30,100 doses were distributed, due to the fact that the importation of calves and yearlings into the State this year has been very materially curtailed. Swamp Fever. Swamp fever or infectious anemia of the horse is, as it has been during a number of years past, quite prevalent in various localities of the State, and in my opinion is the most serious problem confronting our horse breeders at the present time. This disease is not alone incident to Montana, being found in all Western and Northwestern States and Canada. Much scientific investigation has been devoted to this disease with- out so far determining its cause, method of transmission, or satisfactory treatment. Swamp fever is almost uniformly fatal in any of its forms, of which there seems to be an acute, sub-acute and chronic type. This department has made a multitude of field investigations and studies of this disease during the past ten years. While no positive conclusion can be made, it would appear from all evidence available that the infection is an extra-organismal one and that the disease is not directly communicable from one horse to another. On request of your Board the Federal Bureau of Animal Industry sent Dr. J. O. Wilson into the State during the past summer, where he remained some three months making care- ful field investigations and notes, particularly in the Bitter Root Valley. We are much hampered in the study of diseases of this g REPORT OF THE STATE VETERINARIAN. character, on account of no laboratory facilities and lack of appropriation. Should the Legislative Assembly in its wis- dom deem it advisable to provide your honorable Board with a laboratory well equipped, much good would be accomplished in behalf of the livestock industry. Such a laboratory should be general in character, including the manufacture of hog cholera vaccine and other protective vaccines as they develop. Transportation. The annullment of free transportation over the various rail- roads of this State will of necessity incur additional expense on this department for railroad transportation. A careful in- vestigation of the miles traveled by the various members of this department during the past years, demonstrates that the department will require at least three thousand dollars ad- ditional appropriation for railroad transportation. Litigation. During November of this year the State Veterinarian was restrained from slaughtering three well marked clinical cases of glanders in Custer County by order of the district court of that county ; the case was entitled D. C. McKay vs. Jas. T. Stanford, et al. This case was brought to trial at Miles City on November 23d. After hearing evidence, Judge Sanner ordered the horses mallein tested by Dr. A. D. Knowles, of Livingston. The three above mentioned and one contact horse all gave typical reaction. The horses were destroyed by the owner on his own initiative, after being the occasion of much expense and trouble to this department. The three horses in question were such well marked clinical cases that the mallein test was wholly superfluous, and, I believe, was only ordered by the court on account of the feeling mani- fested by the owner. This suit or restraining order brought up the question as to the constitutionality of one or two points in our Sanitary Law. I have therefore taken the liberty of requesting the Attorney General in your name to reconstruct the apparently defective parts of the law,, and with your permission a bill curing these defects will be presented to the incoming legis- lature. I cannot close this report without calling your attention to the broad knowledge of our general livestock industry and livestock sanitary affairs manifested by Governor Edwin REPORT OF THE STATE VETERINARIAN. g L. Norris, who has repeatedly in his addresses in various parts of the State called the attention of our citizens to the work- ings of the Sanitary Law; the necessity for a prompt enforce- ment; particularly soliciting the co-operation of the citizens of our State in protecting domestic animals against com- municable disease. The discussion of these matters by our Chief Executive has been productive of much good and has impressed upon the minds of numberless people with whom I have personally talked more than anything else could have done the importance of animal disease to the livestock grower from a pecuniary standpoint, as well as that from a viewpoint of public health. This department is under many obligations to the Attorney General, on account of the active interest he has taken in all legal affairs of interest to your honorable Board. The resident deputy veterinarians appointed by your hon- orable Board have performed uniformly good service, often- times to the detriment of their pecuniary welfare. With the influx of population a number of skilled and well trained veterinarians have located within the State during the past two years that have been an inestimable help to our general livestock industry, and especially to this department. I herein desire to express my full appreciation of the splendid services rendered by all deputy veterinarians, as well as to those veter- inarians who are not connected with this department that have shown such a splendid public spirit. Respectfully submitted, M. E. KNOWLES, State Veterinarian. IO REPORT OF THE STATE VETERINARIAN. TABLE SHOWING NUMBER OF HORSES EXAMINED DURING YEAR ENDING NOVEMBER 30th, 1909. % 2 3 z Z ^ 3 £ goe §£ o^c £Qc >0c I3 |g3 £3 % - 3 m 8*3 m^ 3 l+u- sr °* owe t% 3ki 2.® 3 * Q2 CD i9* C CD CD COUNTY. SB O cd i-i CD ct> O Ul 0 03 &>03 OJ ^03 P 03 CD cp o n> rt-cD 0) 5* «) 03 •§ Y °> OJ ' £* 03 ts* . 03 1,512 1 14 84 25 217 "io 67 394 "i 1 17 3 Cascade 99 10,617 5 8 13 214 23 43 31 10,298 Custer 105 Dawson 1,834 2 78 1,757 60 60 284 35 6 130 2 Flathead 107 397 1 2 607 250 ""ii ... 67 97 ""ii 40 280 "*557 250 Gallatin Granite ., Jefferson Lewis and Clark Madison Meagher 30 20 Missoula 119 83 Park 144 5 43 8 88 Powell ,. 29 433 46 15 11 56 265 "'is 23 14 102 2 "ii 24 3 "3 ' "23 22 15 56 44 "i74 Ravalli 3 Rosebud Sanders Sweet Grass Teton Valley Yellowstone 1,984 33 243 48 711 1,690 Total 19.001 166 1,291 15,384 111 NOTE — Percentage of reactors to mallein test, 5.5% REPORT OF THE STATE VETERINARIAN. II TABLE SHOWING NUMBER OF HORSES EXAMINED ENDING NOVEMBER 30th, 1910. DURING YEAR COUNTY. 2 » £a £g a •n CD '0 go? c ® =5 r+a 5* Health and Dip- ping Certificates Issued. 1 3,596 204 42 224 2 200 56 98 76 1 9 7 9 4 7,551 2 2 "2 5 "i "l56 204 42 210 "i "48 49 "9 7 "77 521 Deer Lodge Gallatin Jefferson Lewis and Clark Meagher : 7 Park Powell 22 1 Ravalli Sanders Teton ,. Valley 7,474 Total 12,080 12 803 8,025 Percentage of reactors to the tuberculin test, 0.7% REPORT OF THE STATE VETERINARIAN. 13 TABLE SHOWING NUMBER OF CATTLE EXAMINED DURING YEAR ENDING NOVEMBER 30th, 1910. COUNTY. u Number Cattle Destroyed Account Tuberculosis. (D C 3 $ *i 9 ' 3 £° 3 p> el- s' ~«5 3