FOOT & MOUTH DISEASE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 21 September 1938, Page 3

FOOT & MOUTH DISEASE

PRECAUTIONS IN DENMARK. Just as Denmark was about to marshall the greatest assembly of her farm stock ever exhibited, the shadow of the dreaded foot-and-mouth disease passed over the scene. Fortunately the experience represents only the fringe of the shadow. Large areas of Europe, as all stock-breeders know, have had a dire visitation of foot-and-mouth disease - in the past year. Germany has been one of the worst sufferers, and as the present invasion of Denmark is in South-West Jutland, not far from the German frontier, it is natural to regard Germany as the probable source of infection.

Whereas most European countries treat foot-and-mouth disease with less drastic measures than those recognised by Great Britain, Denmark follows Britain’s example by slaughtering all stock on any farm that becomes infected. She carried out this form of instant suppression in the present instance, and also imposed restrictions upon the movement of stock from these areas, which affected the range of exhibits, but only in a minor degree. About 95 per cent of the entries were not affected by the restrictions, as they came from areas outside the zone that was controlled. The two main breeds at the Danish show were the red Danish cattle and the black and white breed of Jutland. The merits of both of these types of dairy cattle are widely recognised by British farmers. There were some Shorthorn cattle reared in West Jutland, and this breed, which would be of most direct interest to British farmers, was relatively the most affected by the foot-and-mouth disease restrictions.