11

46.     The District Board of Rangpur took up the work of construction
of the Veterinary Dispensary at Dimla at the end of this year and have
further sanctioned the cost of adding an additional room to the Sadar
Veterinary Hospital at Rangpur.

47.     One stud bull was presented to the Managing Committee of
the Veterinary Hospital at Chinsura by the Mohunt of Guptipara in
the Hooghly district.

48.     The Raja of Tajhat has also been pleased to make a free gift
of land for the Veterinary Dispensary at Saidpur in the Rangpur district.

49.     Cooch Behar.—It is most gratifying to see that the long-felt
want of a suitable hospital in Cooch Behar is met in the improvement
scheme for that town. Her Highness the Maharani and the Vice-
President of the Regency Council are complimented on the thorough
manner in which this matter has been taken up. The new hospital, in
course of erection, fitted with up-to-date appliances, water and
electricity and cold storage for sera, situate in a spacious compound,
with quarters for both Stationary and Itinerant Veterinary Assistant
Surgeons will be a cerdit to the state and a lasting monument to the
keen interest they have taken in animal welfare.

                             Part III.—Breeding Operations.

50.     Table VIII shows the number of stud bulls maintained in the
Province during the year. Of the total number of 153 bulls, 42 are
the property of Government, while 111 are maintained by the local
bodies.

51.     There is a great shortage of breeding bulls in this Province.
The resources at the disposal of the Cattle Improvement Committee
should be greatly increased so that a tangible beginning may be made
towards the solution of this problem.

                                        Fairs and Shows.

52.     Tables XIII and XIV show the particulars of the horse and
cattle fairs in Bengal.

53.     Veterinary Assistant Surgeons and Inspectors attended most
of these and helped in the judging of animals for the distribution of
prizes and whenever possible gave necessary advice to the raiyats
regarding veterinary matters.

54.     There are at present 48 big cattle fairs in Bengal, where about
a lakh and a half of cattle besides fifteen to twenty thousand of other
animals (horses, camels, sheep and dogs) are brought for sale each year
from different parts of India, mostly outside Bengal. The proprietors
of these melas derived a net profit of about Rs. 80,000 this year, which
is considerably below the profit of a normal year. In this connection
it should be borne in mind that these melas are a source of contagious
diseases of animals in Bengal. If these melas can be properly
controlled by the officers of this Department, the number of outbreaks
might be considerably lowered and thereby expenditure on serum
curtailed. The cost of dealing with these outbreaks falls on
Government and the District Boards.

The measures needed to control this is a Contagious Diseases of
Animals Act to—

(a) prevent sick cattle being moved from one place to another.