ABSTRACT
The idea of a health veterinarian was entirely new to the Japanese. The veterinary service in Japan was principally under the control of the Ministry of Forestry and Agriculture, based upon the concept that veterinarians were primarily of concern to the livestock industry, which was very limited in Japan. Veterinarians are considered essential in controlling diseases of animals, particularly domestic animals, not because of any concern for the health of humans, but because animal diseases represent a hazard to the livestock industry through the loss of animals which might otherwise be sold. A program paralleling that of the human biologics program, with very rigid standards of assay, was established for the production of biologics for the prevention of animal diseases. The canine population had been badly depleted through the war, because there was such limited food: The Japanese policy was to destroy the dogs, because there was insufficient food to share with them.
