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organised scheme must permit the sale of reacting animals without declaration that they have reacted (paragraphs 144, 145).
(29) The general immunisation of cattle against tuberculosis is unlikely to be a satisfactory alternative to eradication and is Incompatible with it (paragraph 146).
(30) Every attempt on the part of individual farmers to eliminate disease from their herds should be encouraged and, where possible, helped; but a concerted scheme based on official regulations should not apply to more than one disease at a time. The first disease to be dealt with officially must be tuberculosis, because of its great danger to public health (paragraphs 147, 148).
The pasteurisation of milk.
(31) Much milk consumed in large towns is already heat-treated to prevent souring. The pasteurisation of such milk could be required without great interference with the interests of individuals. But the interests of the individual would be seriously affected by the compulsory pasteurisation of all milk at present sold in a raw state (paragraph 149).
(32) There is not sufficient evidence to support the presumption that pasteurisation is harmful from the point of view of human nutrition. It cannot make dirty milk clean and, therefore, would not discourage farmers from producing clean milk. If correctly intro- duced, it would encourage them to undertake eradication. On the other hand, the compulsory pasteurisation of milk would disturb the balance at present existing in large towns between the producers of milk in comparatively distant areas for sale after heat-treatment, and the producers of milk in the immediate neighbourhood of large towns for sale in a raw state (paragraphs 150-155).
(33) Pasteurisation is incompatible with the business methods of producer-retailers and, if made compulsory at once, a large number of them would be deprived of their present means of livelihood (para- graps 156, 157).
(34) No policy at the outset satisfies both the interests of public health and those of producer-retailers near large towns. Clinical inspection is not a satisfactory alternative to pasteurisation in those areas where the latter is practicable, nor could producer-retailers make their milk safe by the eradication of tuberculosis until this has made considerable progress in the breeding areas. But, as soon as a sufficient supply of clean cows can be created to enable producer- retailers to free their herds from tuberculosis, it will be fair to make them choose between doing so and submitting to pasteurisation
(paragraphs 158-160).
(35) Though most milk sold in large towns undergoes some form of heat-treatment, the bulk of it is at present treated in unlicensed plants. Milk thus treated, and pasteurised milk, are often sold without any indication that they have been treated. Inspection of licensed
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plants is at present unsatisfactory, and milk sold both from licensed plants (pasteurised milk), and still more that from other plants, is often tuberculous. No milk should be permitted to undergo any form of heat-treatment which is not approved by the Ministry of Health or the Department of Health for Scotland. All pasteurised and sterilised milk should be sold as such, and the plants in which it is pasteurised or sterilised should be of approved design and regularly and efficiently inspected. In the day-to-day working of commercial plants a full laboratory standard of exactitude must be maintained (paragraphs 161-163).
The inter-relation of the various policies advocated. (36) The veterinary service should be expanded as the first part of a programme for the eradication of bovine tuberculosis and the control of other diseases (paragraph 164).
(37) Substantial inducements should be offered to farmers in the form of a higher price for the milk they sell, to incur the costs of eradication, which at the outset may be heavy. A levy should be made on the milk industry to provide a bonus for milk sold from non- tuberculous herds, through the machinery of the Milk Marketing Boards. The collection of this levy should be made a statutory obliga- tion of the present Milk Marketing Boards or of any organisation which may replace them (paragraphs 166, 167).
(38) A satisfactory standard of cleanliness should be insisted on universally, so that the advantages of price owing to grading would be confined to milk which is safe (as distinguished from clean). In this way the inducement to produce tuberculosis-free milk would be increased (paragraph 168).
(39) The measures which we recommend for the registration of tuberculosis-free herds should be put into operation before the choice between the alternatives of pasteurisation or the eradication of tuberculosis is placed before producer-retailers. In order to enable a reservoir of tuberculosis-free cattle to be built up, a reasonable period should be allowed to elapse before pasteurisation is anywhere made compulsory (paragraphs 169, 170).
(40) Our recommendations are made on the hypothesis that a policy of eradicating tuberculosis from the dairy herds of this country is pursued vigorously (paragraph 171).
(b) Recommendations.
230. We summarise our recommendations as follows:-
Veterinary inspection.
(1) Routine veterinary inspection should be made obligatory for all local authorities. The veterinary service should be expanded under the immediate control of local authorities, but with precautions
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