Section 3-1-18

Removal from herd and slaughter or isolation of tuberculous cows generally; procedure for isolation, retesting, slaughter, etc., of same; compensation of owners for slaughtered cows, etc., determined not to have been affected by tuberculosis.

The owner or proprietor or manager of any such dairy, upon being notified by such inspector or his assistant, shall remove or cause to be removed, within 24 hours, said tuberculous cow or cows from his herd to a public abattoir and, under the supervision of such inspector or his assistant, such tuberculous cow or cows must be slaughtered immediately unless such owner, proprietor or manager removes said tuberculous cow or cows from the herd under the supervision of such inspector or his assistant and keeps them isolated therefrom at the expense of the owner for a period of from two to six months, at the expiration of which time said cow or cows shall be retested by said inspector or his assistant and also by some competent veterinarian to be selected by the owner of said cow or cows and, if said inspector or his assistant and the veterinarian so selected by the owner shall fail to agree as to whether said cow or cows are affected with tuberculosis, then said inspector or his assistant, together with the veterinarian selected by the owner, shall call in another competent veterinarian to test said cow or cows. If a majority of such persons should determine that said cow or cows are affected with tuberculosis, the same shall be slaughtered immediately. A postmortem examination on the slaughtered cows shall thereupon be held by the three persons designated in this section, and, if it should be determined by said persons or a majority of them after the holding of such postmortem examination that said cow or cows are not affected with tuberculosis, then the city, town or county employing said inspector who originally pronounced said cows affected with tuberculosis shall immediately pay to the owner of such cow or cows the reasonable value thereof and the reasonable fees of the veterinarian or his assistant called in to aid said inspector or his assistant in making the postmortem examination of said cow or cows.

(Acts 1911, No. 503, p. 566; Code 1923, §§4443-4445; Code 1940, T. 3, §15.)