asked the Minister for Agriculture if he intends taking any steps to ascertain the incidence of contagious abortion in the Saorstát.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Contagious Abortion.
Mr. Hogan
Accurate information as to the incidence of contagious abortion in the Saorstát could be obtained only by a veterinary inspection of every herd of cows in the country, and by the application of the agglutination test to the blood of all suspected animals. The cost of such an investigation would far exceed the value of the results obtainable. Owners of herds are provided by the Department with facilities for obtaining at a small cost the diagnosis and treatment of this disease. A leaflet giving full information in regard to the disease and its treatment is also widely circulated. The Department are convinced that the money at their disposal is more advantageously spent in these ways than in the collecting of information as to the number or percentage of animals affected in a county or in the Saorstát.
Can the Minister give us any estimate as to the loss that was sustained by farmers through contagious abortion?
Mr. Hogan
I could not; it must be enormous.