Animal Health: A History
The State Veterinary Service has had a rich and eventful history. Its origins can be traced back to the 1860s when a veterinary department was set up as a temporary measure to deal with an outbreak of the cattle plague, rinderpest. This then led to the formation of a Government veterinary service, a service which has continued in one form or another ever since.
Now, over 140 years later, the State Veterinary Service, Dairy Hygiene Inspectorate, Egg Marketing Inspectorate and the Wildlife Licensing and Registration Service, have come together as Animal Health to provide animal health, welfare and conservation expertise under one roof from 1 April 2007.
- In October 1865 The Veterinary Department of the Privy Council Office was set up as a temporary measure to deal with an outbreak of cattle disease (rinderpest). This eventually led to the formation of a Government vet service.
- In 1866 a separate Cattle Plague Department was set up to coincide with the Cattle Diseases Prevention Act. A number of vets and local police officers were appointed to act as “inspectors” and were given the power to check herds and compensate owners £20 for each animal slaughtered.
- By 1869 efforts were made to further control infectious diseases and how they entered the country. This included limiting the number of ports to be used for the landing and slaughtering of livestock and improving facilities for slaughtering and quarantine.
- An 1871 Transit Order made it compulsory to erect special pens on board ships and trains which carried livestock, to ensure that animals on long journeys were adequately fed and watered. The order also made sure only trained veterinary surgeons were appointed as inspectors at landing ports.
- In 1905 Stewart Stockman took over as Chief Veterinary Officer and his appointment, which lasted until his death in office in 1926, brought about great changes to the Veterinary Department due to his contribution to research in the development of veterinary medicine in this country.
- His time in post saw the eradication in 1906 of epizootic lymphangitis, a chronic eruptive infection affecting horses. It also saw the passing of the Tuberculosis Order in 1910, which for the first time linked the disease between humans and animals with untreated milk and led to the beginning of TB testing in cattle herds.
- Following a further foot and mouth disease outbreak in 1912, a report recommended that only qualified vets be appointed as inspectors and highlighted the need for extra funding and support for better veterinary education and research.
- In 1921 the country witnessed a severe outbreak of foot and mouth disease, which led to the appointment of two department committees in 1924, which were responsible for recommendations to control the disease and scientific research to investigate the pathology of the disease.
- The Milk and Dairies Act authorised the Ministry of Health to grant licences for the production of certified, Tuberculin tested and pasteurised milk. This was a milestone in the campaign for clean milk from healthy herds.
- In April 1934 veterinary services expanded to take over the responsibility of the now obligatory testing of herds for bovine tuberculosis.
- In February 1935 The Assisted Herds Scheme was launched, enabling herd owners to apply for official tuberculosis testing and if no reactors found, be given a certificate of attestation and entered into the Register of Attested Herds. By 1960 the whole of GB was an attested area. Bovine Tuberculosis however continues to remain one of the most difficult animal health problems facing the farming industry in GB.
- In April 1938 the department became the Animal Health Division of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MAF).
- In 1952 foot and mouth disease led to the loss of 75,000 animals. Following this outbreak it was recommended that salvaging meat from apparently healthy animals on infected premises should stop. It was also recognised that the disease was an international problem and the European Commission for the Control of Foot and Mouth Disease was set up to meet each year.
- 1959 saw one of the worst outbreaks of Newcastle disease. When it was brought under control it was clear the disease was becoming endemic and changes in policy were necessary. A committee travelled to several countries and their findings led to a vaccination policy being introduced.
- In 1960 the costs associated with brucellosis infection in cattle were estimated to be £1m per annum, plus the cost to the community of an estimated 1,000 human cases annually. Through initial voluntary incentive schemes, farmers were encouraged to test and achieve disease accredited status. Later, an area eradication programme was launched starting with the "cleanest" counties first. In 1981 GB was officially recognised to be free of brucellosis.
- During the 1967 foot and mouth epidemic there were 2,364 outbreaks and 433,987 animals slaughtered.
- In 1986 BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy), a neurological disease affecting cattle was identified. Over the next few years, new cases were identified, reaching a peak in 1992 when 36,680 cases were confirmed.
- A total of 16 cases of classical swine fever in East Anglia were dealt with in 2000 – the first outbreak since 1986. The mobilisation and planning in dealing with this outbreak proved invaluable the following year.
- February 2001 saw the worst foot and mouth disease outbreak ever. It involved around six million animals being culled. A number of valuable inquiries were commissioned to collate information and examine how the outbreak was handled.
- In April 2006 a case of H5N1 avian influenza was found in a swan at Cellardyke in Fife, and in Norfolk a low pathogenic version, H7N3, was found in three flocks of free range poultry. In February 2007 high pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza was confirmed on a poultry farm in Suffolk and over 159,000 birds were humanely culled.
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