History of veterinary medicine in Zimbabwe. Part II. Creating awareness, strengthening extension and looking into the future.

Abstract

Livestock farming was going on in the then Southern Rhodesia, before the advent of colonization in 1890. However, history of conventional veterinary medicine dates back only to the arrival of the Pioneer Column, 115 years ago. At that time, veterinary infrastructure and staffing was poor relative to size of the country, in terms of livestock census. Despite that, few veterinarians on the ground managed to eradicate rinderpest (RD), rabies for 37 years, contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP), glanders, epizootic lymphangitis, East coast fever (ECF) and contagious epivaginitis. However, the 1964-1979 war of liberation (WOL), also dubbed Second Chimurenga, disrupted, among other things, gains that had been made in veterinary medicine thus far. After independence, this drawback was addressed head-on. The 1980-1990 era was approached on a note of optimism and enthusiasm to uphold high standard set by professional predecessors. The aim was to learn from previous mistakes, shift emphasis from primary animal health care to herd health and production management. By necessity the livestock policy, and indeed, the Animal Health Act, should be reviewed in the wake of the fast-track land acquisition and resettlement drive, "War on Land" also referred to as Third Chimurenga. This paper traces the history of veterinary medicine in Zimbabwe from the 1950s.