Evening Republican, Volume 18, Number 251, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 23 October 1914 — PIGEONS ARE MENAGE; CARRY HOG CHOLERA [ARTICLE]

PIGEONS ARE MENAGE; CARRY HOG CHOLERA

Benton County Agricultural Agent Thinks They Should Be Killed to Prevent Spread. , i Fowler, Ind., Oct. 22.—County Agent J. W. McFarland is advocating the killing off of all the pigeons that are infesting Benton county farms in such large numbers. Mr. McFarland argues that the pigeons are a decided nuisance in that they earry hog cholera germs on their feet from one farm or hog lot to another. “Only yesterday,” observed the county agent, “I saw a large drove of pigeons in an infected herd of hogs. I saw this same drove of pigeons fly to a neighboring farm where there were a large number of hogs feeding in the lot. The hogs that 'have not already been exposed to the disease cannot escape it when they are having the germs carried to them by pigeons. It has been proved beyond a doubt* that pigeons and other birds are a better carrier of the germs from infected hogs than anything else and the sooner the pigeons are puffjmt of the way the better.” The county agent urges the forming among the farmers of pigeon slaughtering parties and that at least one day a week be demoted to shooting the pigeons until they 'have all been killed. After the pigeons have been done away with the county agent expresses the belief that there may be some results expected from other efforts on the part of the farmers. Vaccination, he asserts, will not rid this county of hog Cholera so long as it is being spread daily by the pigeons, which, he contends, are even dirtier about a farm and barn than chickens are.