Vasily Anatolievich Sablin,
Doctor of Historical Sciences,, Vologda State University, Vologda, Russia, е-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Sergey Aleksandrovich Lebedev,
Postgraduate Student, Vologda State University, Vologda, Russia, е-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Svetlana Valentinovna Timoshina,
Candidate of Veterinary Sciences, Vologda State University, Vologda, Russia, е‑mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Epizootics and the Development of Cattle Breeding in the Vologda Province in the Late 19th – Early 20th Centuries
DOI: 10.31518/2618-9100-2024-4-10
The most important task of the veterinary service of any country is to create a system of preventive measures to prevent epizootics and combat their spread, which not only harmed the livestock segment of the economy, but also posed a danger to public health. Of great interest is the study of the impact of the spread of livestock diseases and measures to combat them on the development of cattle breeding in the regional dimension, in particular, on the materials of the Vologda province as a region with rich experience in the development of meat and dairy farming. The paper analyzes the most dangerous and widespread epizootics in the Vologda province in the late 19th – early 20th centuries, the factors of their spread, measures taken to combat them, as well as the impact of animal diseases on the development of cattle breeding in the region. The most common and dangerous diseases of livestock during the study period include anthrax, rabies, myth, and parasitic diseases. As a rule, the number of detected cases of the disease during the year did not exceed 1 % of the total number of livestock in the province. Among the main factors of the spread of diseases, transport routes (river and railway), cattle herd distillation, the use of weakened livestock in the farm, the import of sick animals and animal products to the territory of the province, the presence of old cattle burial grounds, improper burial of fallen animals are highlighted. The period of spring and summer was the most dangerous in terms of the spread of diseases. Vaccination, isolation and slaughter of sick animals, sanitary supervision of imported cattle and fairs were measures to combat the spread of livestock diseases. The fight against the spread of epizootics was hampered by the concealment of diseased livestock by peasants, the small number of veterinary staff, the presence of stationary sources of diseases, and the inability to diagnose diseased cattle before death.
Publishing: 28/08/2024
The article has been received by the editor on 29/04/2024
How to cite: Sablin V.А., Lebedev S.A., Timoshina S.V. Epizootics and the Development of Cattle Breeding in the Vologda Province in the Late 19th – Early 20th Centuries // Historical Courier, 2024, No. 4 (36), pp. 130–137. [Available online: http://istkurier.ru/data/2024/ISTKURIER-2024-4-10.pdf]
The study was conducted within the framework of project No. 23-28-00860 “Autochthonous Factors of the Creation of the Vologda Dairy Brand in Retrospect of the Development of Animal Husbandry in the European North of Russia in the 20th–21th Centuries”, supported by the Russian Science Foundation.
Links: Issue 4 2024
Keywords: epizootics; diseases of cattle; history of cattle breeding; anthrax; rabies; Vologda province