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Colonial Veterinary Surgeon's Report for the year 1898.
Government OFFICES, HONGKONG, 10th January, 1899.
SIR,--I have the honour to submit herewith for the information of the Sanitary Board this my Annual Report for the year ending December 31st, 1898.
REPORT.
IMPORTATION OF LIVE STOCK.
Since the autumn of 1897 Foot and Mouth Disease has been raging over the whole of South China, and spreading rapidly from place to place invaded Tonquin, Cambodia and, I believe, the whole of Indo-China also. In the month of November, 1897, the disease appeared for the first time in eleven years in the Colony and since then it has been impossible to stamp it out under the ordinary precautions which would be taken elsewhere.
Dependent, as we are, entirely upon the mainland for supplies, it would be impossible to prohibit the importation of cattle altogether, or the meat supply of the Colony would be cut off, and, as the disease still remains general over all the districts from whence our cattle are drawn, it naturally follows that from time to time a few infected animals are brought in.
Therefore until the disease runs its course in the adjacent provinces it is impossible to prevent a few cases being landed occasionally in the Colony, though much might be done to prevent its spread had we proper Inspection Lairs for Cattle, of which I urged the necessity as far back as 1888.
I again referred to the matter in my Annual Report for 1892 mentioning an instance where an outbreak of Rinderpest at Kobe once cut off the entire milk supply of that port; and here quote an
extract:—
"There is nothing to prevent a similar outbreak in Hongkong sooner or later unless something is done to provide a proper Inspection Lair to which all cattle should be driven directly upon landing there to remain at least 12 hours before being inspected and passed into the permanent depôts or elsewhere. This is the method adopted in the United Kingdom and other countries, and even then occasional cases of disease escape detection and so cause wide-spreading outbreaks which are difficult to check, hence it will be easy to understand the risk which is run here with no Inspection Lair at all."
During the early part of the year the provinces of Kwang Tung and Kwang Si were also over-run with Rinderpest or Cattle Plague, which killed off large numbers of animals, and this, together with a rise in the value of rice, caused a scarcity of animals and higher prices; but the supply, though at times intermittent, was always equal to the demand.
It will be seen under the heading of "animal depôts" that the number of animals imported for slaughter during the year 1898 exceeded those for 1889 by 3,721 cattle, 5,846 sheep and goats, and 27,332 swine.
As most of these animals are brought from long distances to Hongkong it is desirable that an effort should be made to encourage the breeding of cattle and swine upon some parts of the extended territory when it is taken over, should suitable localities become available, though there might be many difficulties to contend with at first owing to the great reluctance of the Chinese to depart from the rigid rules of “olo custom.”
ANIMAL DEPÔTS.
With the exception of the outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease in the cattle depôts the general health of the animals housed during the year was good.
The total number of cattle admitted into the depôt at Kennedy Town was 21,611 and at the Hung Hom Depôt 1,029.
In the swine depôt at Kennedy Town 137,237 animals were admitted, and at Hung Hom 15,154. At Kowloon there is great need of a small swine depôt, these animals at present being accom- modated in part of the cattle depôt.
24,686 sheep and goats were housed at the Kennedy Town depôt during the year.
SLAUGHTER HOUSES.
Victoria and Kowloon.-These two buildings are both in a good state of repair and amendment and will meet all requirements for some time to come.
Shaukiwan and Aberdeen.—Both these places are still without a proper slaughter house although section 8 of Ordinance 17 of 1887 reads that "a sufficient number of fit and proper slaughter houses to meet the requirements of the Colony shall be provided by the Government.