Is prevention better than cure? the rise and fall of veterinary preventive medicine, c.1950-1980

Social History of Medicine

Volumn 26, Issue 1, 2013, Pages 113-131

  Woods, Abigail ^a  

^a IMPERIAL COLLEGE LONDON   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

Agriculture; General practice; Livestock; Preventive medicine; Veterinary

Indexed keywords

EID: 84872689221     PISSN: 0951631X     EISSN: 14774666     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1093/shm/hks031     Document Type: Article

References (180)

1. S. Jennings, 'President's Address to the Association', Vet. Rec., 1961, 73, 873-7, 873. The BVA is the veterinary equivalent of the British Medical Association.
2. A. Woods, 'The Farm as Clinic: Veterinary Expertise and the Transformation of Dairy Farming, 1930-50', Stud. Hist. Phil. Biol. Biomed. Sci., 2007, 38, 462-87.
3. Earlier periods are covered by I. Pattison, The British Veterinary Profession, 1791-1948 (London: J. A. Allen, 1984);
4. A. Gardiner, The Development of Small Animal Veterinary Practice in 20th-century Britain (University of Manchester: Unpublished PhD thesis, 2010).
5. A very superficial account of post-WWII developments is provided by J. Swabe, Animals, Disease and Human Society: Human-Animal Relations and the Rise of Veterinary Medicine (London: Routledge, 1999).
6. For a history of veterinary practice in the USA, see S. Jones, Valuing Animals: Veterinarians and their Patients in Modern America (Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press, 2003).
7. C. Webster, The National Health Service: A Political History (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, 2002);
8. R. Klein, The New Politics of the NHS (Oxford: Radcliffe, 6th edition, 2010).
9. Examples include: Anon, Animal Health, A Centenary, 1865-1965 (London: HMSO, 1965);
10. J. Lewis, What Price Community Medicine?: The Philosophy, Practice, and Politics of Public Health since 1919 (Brighton: Wheatsheaf Books, 1986);
11. D. Porter, Health, Civilization, and the State: A History of Public Health from Ancient to Modern Times (London: Routledge, 1999);
12. A. Woods, 'A Historical Synopsis of Farm Animal Disease and Public Policy in 20th century Britain', Philos. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B. Biol. Sci., 2011, 366, 1943-54.
13. Examples include: A. Woods, A Manufactured Plague? The History of Foot and Mouth Disease in Britain (London: Earthscan, 2004);
14. K. Waddington, The Bovine Scourge: Meat, Tuberculosis and Public Health, 1850-1914 (Woodbridge: Boydell Press, 2006);
15. D. Brunton, The Politics of Vaccination: Practice and Policy in England, Wales, Ireland, and Scotland, 1800-1874 (Rochester: University of Rochester Press, 2008);
16. D. Cantor (ed.), Cancer in the 20th Century (Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press, 2008);
17. S. Jones, Death in a Small Package: A Short History of Anthrax (Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press, 2010);
18. F. Condrau and M. Worboys (eds), Tuberculosis Then and Now: Perspectives on the History of an Infectious Disease (London: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2010).
19. According to the 2004 Animal Health Strategy of the Department of the Environment, Fisheries and Food, 'The strategic outcome "prevention is better than cure" speaks for itself' (http://archive.defra.gov.uk/foodfarm/ policy/animalhealth/strategy/ahws.pdf, 22).
20. A parallel European Union initiative is entitled 'A New Animal Health Strategy for the European Union (2007-2013) where "Prevention is Better than Cure."' http://ec.europa.eu/food/animal/diseases/strategy/docs/animal- health
21. For an insightful analysis of the recurrent appeal and failure of disease prevention policies, see L. Larsen, 'Is Prevention Better than Cure? Public Health and the Circular Structure of Learning', unpublished paper presented to the American political science association meeting, 2010. http://papers.ssrn. com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract-id=1642354.
22. Report of the Departmental Committee of Inquiry into Recruitment for the Veterinary Profession (London: HMSO, 1964, Cmnd 2430), 50.
23. F. Waddington, 'The Profession Today and Yomorrow', Vet. Rec., 1959, 71, 434-7;
24. H. Hebeler, 'Speech to BVA Annual Banquet', Vet. Rec., 1959, 71, 587-90;
25. J. Wright, 'The Veterinary Profession, Past, Present and Future', Vet. Rec. 1961, 73, 244-46;
26. E. White, 'The Future of the Profession', Vet. Rec., 1961, 73, 526-8;
27. J. White, 'President's Address to the Association', Vet. Rec., 1961, 73, 987-90;
28. D. Hughes, 'President's Address to the Association', Vet. Rec., 1964, 76, 1001-4.
29. For examples of correspondence, see Vet. Rec., 1961, 73, passim.
30. Jennings, 'President's Address'.
31. G. Grunsell and A. Wright (eds), Animal Health and Production (London: Butterworths, 1962);
32. E. White and F. Jordan, Veterinary Preventive Medicine (London: Bailliere, Tindall and Cox, 1963).
33. Preventive Medicine Association, 'Preliminary Meeting', Vet. Rec., 1962, 74, 1162-3.
34. RCVS, 'Committee on the Future Organisation of the Profession', Vet. Rec., 1963, 75, 1163.
35. Woods, 'The Farm as Clinic'.
36. Ibid..
37. W. Wooldridge, Farm Animals in Health and Disease (London: Crosby Lockwood, 1952);
38. T. Dalling, 'The Veterinary Profession Past, Present and Future', Vet. Rec., 1953, 65, 542-6;
39. W. Miller, 'The Prospect Before Us', Vet. Rec., 1958, 70, 207-10.
40. J. Martin, The Development of Modern Agriculture: British Farming since 1931 (Basingstoke: Macmillan, 2000), 73.
41. G. Arthur, 'Summary and Conclusion: Veterinary Surgery: Present and Future', Vet. Rec., 1953, 65, 352-3.
42. Gardiner, Small Animal Veterinary Practice, 309-20.
43. Woods, 'A Historical Synopsis'. While such initiatives were sometimes referred to as 'veterinary preventive medicine', in the discussions reported here this phrase referred specifically to the provision of advice on herd health.
44. Wright, 'The Veterinary Profession'; Report of the Departmental Committee, 14-23.
45. G. Brander, 'Recent Advances in Veterinary Medicine', Vet. Rec., 1963, 75, 553-8.
46. According to T. Corley and A. Godley, 'The Veterinary Medicines Industry in Britain, 1900-2000', Ec. Hist. Rev., 2011, 64, 832-54, 81
47. there was a 'surge in the veterinary medicine industry's output, from £2.3 million in 1948 to £42.7 million in 1968 - an almost 12 per cent per annum compound growth.' 23W. T. Tame, Minute, 20 April 1950, National Archives (hereafter NA) MAF 35/572;
48. R. Bud, Penicillin: Triumph and Tragedy (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007).
49. Editorial, 'Costs and Fees in Private Practice', Vet. Rec., 1961, 73, 229-30.
50. J. Leiper, 'A New Approach to Phenothiazine Therapy', Vet. Rec., 1951, 63, 885-89;
51. Technical Committee on Mastitis, 'A Method for the Eradication of Str. Agalactiae', Vet. Rec., 1955, 67, 410-11;
52. H. Swann, 'The Future of the Veterinary Profession: Agricultural Veterinary Practice', Br. Vet. J., 1963, 119, 230-6.
53. Wright, 'The Veterinary Profession', 245;
54. M. Brancker, 2002. Interview at Tamworth on 4 November 2002 with A. Woods. Transcript in the author's possession.
55. NAAS replaced the pre-war patchwork of county and university advisory services. It also incorporated experimental farms and demonstration plots for research, development and dissemination purposes. Its advisers were educated to degree or diploma level. By the early 1960s, they served around 60 per cent of farmers with more than 16 acres of land. More research is needed on the content of their advice, and on the development of the science that underpinned it. C. Holmes, 'Science and the Farmer: The Development of the Agricultural Advisory Service in England and Wales, 1900-39', Ag. Hist. Rev., 1988, 36, 77-86;
56. N. McCann, The Story of the National Agricultural Advisory Service (Ely: Providence, 1989);
57. R. Dancey, 'The Evolution of Agricultural Extension in England and Wales', J. Ag. Econ., 1993, 44, 375-9.
58. A Correspondent, 'The Poultry Industry and the Veterinary Surgeon', Vet. Rec., 1962, 73, 324-5;
59. D. B. Bellis, 'The Role of Commercial Companies in Modern Farm Husbandry', Vet. Rec., 1963, 75, 1291-1300;
60. Anon, Animal Health; S. Baker, Milk to Market: Forty Years of Milk Marketing (London: Heinemann, 1973), 219-51.
61. Wright, 'The Veterinary Profession', 244;
62. K. Anderson, 'Economics in Veterinary Practice', Vet. Rec., 1962, 74, 1494-6;
63. D. Fenwick Jones, 'The Veterinary Profession: The Next 30 years', Vet. Rec., 1962, 74, 436. The eradication of bTB was confidently predicted in 1960. However it remains a serious and growing problem today.
64. Martin, Modern Agriculture, 79-88.
65. The number of UK dairy farmers decreased by 50,000 between 1950 and 1963, but the number of cows increased by 300,000. GBSH, 'Changes to national dairy herd', Vet. Rec., 1963, 75, 1303.
66. Fenwick Jones, 'The Veterinary Profession'.
67. D. Barr, 'Muck and Money', Pig Farmer, 9 October 1961, 26;
68. P. Jackson, 'The Future of the Profession', Vet. Rec., 1962, 74, 907;
69. H. Swann, 'The Future of the Profession', Vet. Rec., 1962, 75, 982.
70. Anderson, 'Economics in Veterinary Practice'.
71. Jennings, 'President's Address', 875.
72. A. Woods, 'Intensive Livestock Production and the Redefinition of Health and Disease, c1930-70.' Paper presented to workshop on the historical development of livestock production in the twentieth century, Utrecht University, 2011.
73. A. Paterson, 'Animal Health', Philos. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B. Biol. Sci., 1973, 267, 113-30.
74. H. G. Lamont, D. Luke and W. A. M. Gordon, 'Some Pig Diseases', Vet. Rec., 1950, 62, 737.
75. Bud, Penicillin, 171-8.
76. Jennings, 'President's Address'.
77. 'New Drugs Don't Save Mastitis Millions', Farmers Weekly, 15 Sep. 1961, 61;
78. A. Eden, 'NAAS Nutrition Chemists: Some Aspects of their Work and Relationships with the Veterinary Profession', Vet. Rec., 1963, 75, 472-5;
79. A. Bindloss, 'Advisory Structures within the Animal Feeding-stuffs Industry', Vet. Rec., 1965, 77, 868-70;
80. Paterson, 'Animal Health'.
81. Wright, 'The Veterinary Profession
82. P. Lang, 'The Future of the Profession', Vet. Rec., 1961, 73, 769-70;
83. T. Ewer, 'The Veterinary Surgeon in Relation to Animal Husbandry', Vet. Rec., 1962, 74, 1141-7;
84. White, 'The President's Address
85. Hughes, 'The President's Address'.
86. Wooldridge, Farm Animals;
87. White and Jordan, Veterinary Preventive Medicine;
88. W. P. Blount, Intensive livestock farming (Oxford: William Heinemann, 1968).
89. Brancker, Interview.
90. White and Jordan, Veterinary Preventive Medicine, 2-3.
91. Woods, 'The Farm as Clinic'.
92. Hughes, 'The President's Address'.
93. Veterinary talks to farmers were frequently reported in the popular farming magazine, Farmers Weekly.
94. Editorial, 'The Information Service', Vet. Rec., 1966, 79, 775.
95. S. Horvat, 'The Economics of Husbandry and the Disease Pattern in Pigs', Vet. Rec., 1964, 76, 1181-89.
96. Papers of The Pedigree Sheep Health Scheme, 1957-8, folder D PARRY/D23, Museum of English Rural Life, Reading;
97. Anon, 'Association for the Advancement of VP-Free Pigs', Vet. Rec., 1958, 70, 322-3
98. White, 'The Future of the Profession
99. White, 'The President's Address
100. Central Veterinary Society, 'Meeting Report', Vet. Rec., 1964, 76, 89-90;
101. W. Lester and I. Hay, 'Correspondence', Vet. Rec., 1965, 77, 119-20.
102. Press clippings dated from 1963 are contained within NA MAF 287/102;
103. Editorial, 'The Future of the Profession', Vet. Rec., 1966, 78, 591-6.
104. Jennings, 'President's Address
105. Lang, 'The future of the profession'.
106. Editorial, 'The Human Element', Vet Rec, 1967, 81, 133.
107. BVA, 'Quarterly Meeting', Vet. Rec., 1965, 77, 723.
108. Woods, 'A Historical Synopsis'.
109. MAFF Correspondence, 1961, NA MAF 287/101;
110. MAFF report, 1963, NA MAF 287/102.
111. J. Carnochan, 'Future Animal Health Objectives', 16 Nov. 1964, NA MAF 287/352;
112. Annual Review and Determination of Guarantees, Parliamentary Papers 1963-4, cmnd 2315, 12.
113. Roxburgh, 'Preventive Medicine: The Place of the Veterinary Profession Through the Eyes of an Agricultural Journalist and Farmer', Vet. Rec., 1963, 75, 776;
114. T. Legge, 'Prevention not Cure', Farmers Weekly, 15 May 1964, 65;
115. Editorial, 'Seeing is Believing', Farmers Weekly, 26 Feb. 1965, 37;
116. 'Mr Owens Calls for a National Vet Service', Farmers Weekly, 28 Oct. 1966, 41.
117. Study Group Correspondence and Papers, 1964-9, NA MAF 287/296;
118. M. Williams, 'Farmer-Vet Network Tackles the £150m Drain', Farmers Weekly, 8 April 1966, 47.
119. BVA Council, 'Report of Meeting', Vet. Rec., 1965, 77, 299-300;
120. Technical Development Committee, 'Application of Veterinary Research on the Farm', Vet. Rec., 1965, 77, 1077;
121. Annual Review and Determination of Guarantees, Parliamentary Papers 1964-5, Cmnd 2621, 140.
122. National Plan (London: HMSO, 1965, cmnd 2764), 140. The plan aimed to address weaknesses in the economy by planning developments over the next 5 years.
123. J. Carnochan, 'Submission to the Minister' and 'Suggested Amendments' 23 Dec. 1964, NAMAF 287/352.
124. MAFF Correspondence, 1964-5, NA MAF 387/352.
125. Report of the Departmental Committee, 27.
126. Report of the joint committee on the use of antibiotics in animal husbandry and veterinary medicine (London: HMSO, 1969, Cmnd 4190) 53.
127. MAFF Correspondence, 1965-6, NA MAF 276/353, MAF 276/354.
128. Review of MAFF Functions 1970, NA T 224/2153, BA 17/518, MAF 287/440. By 1970 the PHS incorporated just 140 herds at an annual cost of £20,000.
129. Williams, 'Farmer-Vet Network'.
130. A. Steele-Bodger, 2003. Interview at Avergavenny, 27 January 2003 with A. Woods. Transcript in the author's possession.
131. Central Study Group Meetings 1969, NA MAF 287/ 296, MAF 114/819.
132. Treasury Correspondence, 1967, NA T 224/1451, T 224/1563.
133. Urwick, Orr & Partners, 'Report', 1969, NA MAF 287/ 539.
134. Proposed Changes in the Work of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (London: HMSO, 1971, Cmnd 4564), 2-8.
135. Dancey, 'Agricultural Extension', 381.
136. 'Board Launches Mastitis Control Scheme', Farmers Weekly, 2 April 1971, 43;
137. 'Vets Pick Holes in Pig Health Plan', Farmers Weekly, 18 Sep. 1970, 49;
138. Various Correspondents, 'MMB mastitis control pilot scheme', Vet. Rec., 1971, 88, 57, 102, 125.
139. G. Gould, 'The Veterinary Surgeon's Approach to Farm Advice', in Livestock Production in the 70s: Conference Proceedings (London: BVA, 1969), 38-50.
140. V. Beynon, 'The Role of the Veterinary Surgeon in British Agriculture', Vet. Rec., 1963, 75, 1436-48;
141. R. Morris, 'Assessing the Economic Value of Veterinary Services to Primary Industries', Aust. Vet. J., 1969, 45, 295-300;
142. V. Beynon, 'Losses Incurred in Cattle and Sheep Production', in Animal Health - - Farmers' Wealth?, ed. C. Asby, (Reading: Reading University, 1972), 3-13.
143. M. Fussell, 'The Profession and Agricultural Economics', Vet. Rec., 1968, 83, 82-1;
144. L. Pugh and B. Singleton, 'The Future of the Profession', Vet. Rec., 1968, 85, 748;
145. J. Nix, 'Farm Management: The State of the Art (or Science)', J. Ag. Econ., 1979, 30, 277-91;
146. Dancey, 'Agricultural Extension', 379.
147. C. Grunsell, R. Penny, S. Wragg and J. Allcock, 'The Practicability and Economics of Veterinary Preventive Medicine: A Report of a Three Year Scheme by the Mid-West Division of the BVA', Vet. Rec., 1969, 84, 26-40.
148. R. Penny, 2009. Interview at Atherstone, Warwickshire, 18 February 2009 with A. Woods. Transcript in the author's possession.
149. Pugh and Singleton, 'The Future of the Profession'
150. 'A New Course on Farm Economics for Veterinarians', Vet. Rec., 1972, 90, 287.
151. MAFF, Press Notice, 25 April 1969, NA MAF 114/819.
152. MAFF Correspondence, 1969-70, NA MAF 114/819.
153. J. Foxlee, 'The Advisory Problem in Preventive Medicine', 27 Jan 1970, NA MAF 114/819.
154. J. Carnochan, Minute, 13April 1970,NAMAF 114/819.
155. Report on the Joint exercise in Animal Health and Productivity (London: MAFF, 1976), 2.
156. Morris, 'Assessing the Economic Value', 295-300;
157. R. Morris and D. Blood, 'The Economic Basis of Planned Veterinary Services to Individual Herds', Aust. Vet. J., 1969, 45, 337-69.
158. Penny, Interview;
159. Corley and Godley, 'The Veterinary Medicines Industry'; Record of Third Meeting, Committee of Inquiry into the Veterinary Profession 1971-5, Papers and Minutes held by Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons Charitable Trust Library; Martin, Modern Agriculture, 88-91, 139-44.
160. Grunsell et al., 'Practicability and Economics', 39.
161. Editorial, 'Numbers in the Profession', Vet. Rec., 1967, 80, 35;
162. D. Thornton, 'Large Animal Practice and Preventive Medicine', Vet. Rec., 1968, 83, 575;
163. Report of the Departmental Committee, 40; Report of the Committee of Inquiry into the Veterinary Profession (London: HMSO, 1975, Cmnd 6143), 13.
164. CVP 319 and 369, Committee of Inquiry Papers and Minutes; Report of the Committee of Inquiry, 24-6;
165. P. Jackson, 2011, Interview at Over, Cambridge, 5 January 2011 with A. Woods. Transcript in the author's possession.
166. J Hardie, The Economics of Veterinary Practice (Aberdeen School of Agriculture: Miscellaneous publication no. 8, 1969), 41, showed that just 19 of the 7,700 farmers serviced by 20 Scottish veterinary practices studied had contracts for regular visits.
167. Pugh and Singleton, 'The Future of the Profession'.
168. MAFF Correspondence, 1969-70, NA MAF 287/558.
169. Report of the Joint Committee on the Use of Antibiotics in Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine (London: HMSO, 1969, Cmnd 4190).
170. John Parsons, BVA president 1969-70 had participated in the mid-West division's pilot study and sat on Swann's antibiotic committee;
171. Sir Alexander Robertson, RCVS president 1968-9, was professor of veterinary hygiene and preventive medicine at Edinburgh University.
172. John Reid, MAFF's former Chief Veterinary Officer, had overseen the introduction of the study groups and PHS; Brian Singleton was a small animal vet and RCVS president 1969-70.
173. Report of the Committee of Inquiry, 134.
174. Ibid., 24-8, 130-7;
175. Records of meetings 1-5, Committee of inquiry, Papers and Minutes.
176. MAFF Correspondence, 1975-6, NA MAF 425/1, MAF 425/2.
177. Swann Working Group Papers, 1975-6, NA MAF 425/3;
178. Preparation of Government Statement, 1976-7, NA MAF 425/5.The economic situation had the opposite effect on human disease prevention, which was promoted on the grounds that it was cheaper than cure. This difference arose because under the NHS, the state funded both preventive and curative medicine.
179. Maude Correspondence, 17 March 1977, NA MAF 425/5.
180. Defra Archive, 'Farm Health Planning' http://archive.defra.gov.uk/ foodfarm/farmanimal/fhp/about.htm.