Reports on the outbreak of rabies among deer in Richmond Park during the years 1886-7 / by A.C. Cope and Victor Horsley ; presented to both Houses of Parliament by command of Her Majesty.
- Cope, Alexander C.
- Date:
- 1888
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: Reports on the outbreak of rabies among deer in Richmond Park during the years 1886-7 / by A.C. Cope and Victor Horsley ; presented to both Houses of Parliament by command of Her Majesty. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.
7/16 (page 7)
![off the head, giving it the appearance described in the accounts of the outbreaks at the Grove iu 1795, at Swythamley, and at Eaton Park. (Mr. Sawyer informs me that when a doe has a fawn she will attack a dog, and under these circumstances it is quite possible that this and other does in the herd may have been bitten by a stray rabid dog.) Some days after the death of this doe, the keepers noticed others of the deer in the same herd behaving in a very erratic manner. At first they were constantly rubbing their heads against the stems of trees or on posts, and with such force that their hair was in some cases entirely removed. They were fre- quently seen to be biting the skin about their shoulders and bellies until they were perfectly raw, tearing out their hair, and at times they charged at the other deer. As a rule the animals appeared to feed up to the time of their death, and when the keepers opened them they found within the stomachs pieces of stick, and other things which they would have ordinarily refused for food. All the animals were represented as showing the same symptoms, some being very violent before dying, and they usually died within two or three days of being first observed to be unwell. It was at first thought that the animals had died from eating some poisonous food. The contents of the stomachs were analysed on the suggestion of Mr. Lupton, the Veterinary Inspector of the Local Authority, but no poisonous food or substance could be found therein. The pastures were also searched for poisonous plants, but without success. The disease spread slowly through the herd, the animals dying at the rate of four a week ; and by April 1887, 160 had died, all presenting decided symptoms of some form of nervous disease, which in many instances ended in paralysis, and always in the death of the animal. At this period Mr. Lupton suggested that the attention of Departmental this Department should be called to the outbreak, and on visiting in(]ulIT in*°tl UciturG oi tnc the park on April 17th I found, first, that the disease had up disease, to that time been entirely confined to the herd grazing nearest to the East Sheen gate: and, secondly, that, although the herd had been removed from their former pasture, and had been enclosed in another part of the park, where their mode of feeding had been entirely changed, the animals continued to die at about the same rate and with the same symptoms. From this fact I concluded the disease had not originated in the feeding of the animals. When watching the herd I observed that they presented several of the symptoms which are described in the outbreaks previously referred to. One of the earliest indications of their being affected was that of throwing the head back and sniffing the air, as described in the Eaton Hall outbreak. After a few moments they would start at a gallop, as though they had been suddenly alarmed, and they as suddenly stopped and again commenced to graze. It being impossible to devote sufficient time in the park to study the symptoms and nature of the disease, a buck and a fawn](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b2230308x_0009.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
