Cattle, Priests, and Progress in Medicine was first published in 1978. Minnesota Archive Editions uses digital technology to make long-unavailable books once again accessible, and are published unaltered from the original University of Minnesota Press editions. The author shows that over the centuries many of the most significant breakthroughs in improving humans health have been closely associated with observations and experiments on animals other than man. Because human medical progress has been so dependent on veterinary studies, he urges that schools of veterinary medicine assume a much greater role in the training of persons for research in human medicine. To illuminate the historical link between animals and man in medical progress, Professor Schwabe recounts highlights in the history of medicine from ancient times onward. He describes the early history of man in terms of animal cultures, focusing on the prehistoric Nile Valley, and points to similarities in medical knowledge between present-day "cattle" societies in Northeastern Africa and the ancient people of the Nile. He discusses the comparative healers of ancient Egypt, the comparative foundations of Greek medicine, the Arabic contribution, Sicily and the beginnings of modern medicine, and subsequent developments through the Renaissance .Bringing the history down to modern times, Professor Schwabe emphasizes the role of veterinary medicine in medical research. He outlines specific reforms in the curricula of schools and colleges of veterinary medicine which would provide for the education of medical investigators.

With graphic directness, this book describes how animal doctors all too often break their professional credo and abuse animals. Veterinarian Fox says that animals have no protection against the traps, poison baits, harpoons, factory and fur farms, and no escape from the cages of laboratories. Cleveland Amory introduces this classic of the Animal Rights Movement.

Most of the future increase in livestock production is expected to occur in the tropical and subtropical regions of the world. Cattle are the most numerous of the ruminant species in the tropics and provide the largest quantity of animal food products. More than one-third of the world's cattle are found in the tropics. Disease is the major factor which prohibits full utilization of these regions for cattle production. Various infectious and transmissible viral, rick ettsial, bacterial, and particularly protozoan and helminthic diseases, are widespread in the tropics and exert a heavy toll on the existing cattle industry there. This uncontrolled disease situation also discourages investment in cattle industries by private and government sectors. In Africa alone, it is estimated that 125 million head of cattle could be accommodated in the tropical rainbelt if the disease and other animal husbandry factors could be resolved. The potential of efficient cattle production under more favorable conditions prompted various international agencies to establish a multi million dollar International Laboratory for Research in Animal Diseases (lLRAD) in Nairobi, Kenya, Africa. In South America, principal sites for raising cattle are shifting to the savannah lands because the more fertile soils are being used for crop produc tion, however, in the savannahs also, disease remains the most powerful deterrent in implementing the cattle industry.

People have relied on medicinal products derived from natural sources for millennia, and animals have long been an important part of that repertoire; nearly all cultures, from ancient times to the present, have used animals as a source of medicine. Ingredients derived from wild animals are not only widely used in traditional remedies, but are also increasingly valued as raw materials in the preparation of modern medicines. Regrettably, the unsustainable use of plants and animals in traditional medicine is recognized as a threat to wildlife conservation, as a result of which discussions concerning the links between traditional medicine and biodiversity are becoming increasingly imperative, particularly in view of the fact that folk medicine is the primary source of health care for 80% of the world’s population. This book discusses the role of animals in traditional folk medicine and its meaning for wildlife conservation. We hope to further stimulate further discussions about the use of biodiversity and its implications for wildlife conservation strategies.

This book provides a comprehensive coverage of all aspects of the welfare of cattle. It starts with a consideration of animal welfare science and its application to the management of cattle and moves through to discussions of the challenges and opportunities for providing good welfare for cattle in farming and husbandry systems across the globe. The first section comprises three chapters that discuss the social, behavioural and physiological methods that can be used to assess welfare in cattle. The second section considers the welfare challenges of beef and dairy cattle in extensive and intensive systems. The third section details welfare challenges such as at slaughter, during handling and in the growing period and details solutions such as the use of sensors and application of animal breeding techniques. The final section addresses welfare challenges and solutions in achieving sustainability, in smallholder farms in Africa and new entrant dairying in Asia and cow shelters in India. This work makes a valuable contribution to the field of animal welfare and modern livestock farming. It is a must-read for researchers and students, veterinarians as well as industry personnel and informed farmers and producers.

A comprehensive introduction to the role of epidemiology in veterinary medicine This fully revised and expanded edition of Veterinary Epidemiology introduces readers to the field of veterinary epidemiology. The new edition also adds new chapters on the design of observational studies, validity in epidemiological studies, systematic reviews, and statistical modelling, to deliver more advanced material. This updated edition begins by offering an historical perspective on the development of veterinary medicine. It then addresses the full scope of epidemiology, with chapters covering causality, disease occurrence, determinants, disease patterns, disease ecology, and much more. Veterinary Epidemiology, Fourth Edition: ● Features updates of all chapters to provide a current resource on the subject of veterinary epidemiology ● Presents new chapters essential to the continued advancement of the field ● Includes examples from companion animal, livestock, and avian medicine, as well as aquatic animal diseases ● Focuses on the principles and concepts of epidemiology, surveillance, and diagnostic-test validation and performance ● Includes access to a companion website providing multiple choice questions Veterinary Epidemiology is an invaluable reference for veterinary general practitioners, government veterinarians, agricultural economists, and members of other disciplines interested in animal disease. It is also essential reading for epidemiology students at both the undergraduate and postgraduate levels.