Question & AnswerQ&A (Act No. 3639)
The primary purpose of Act No. 3639 is to create the Bureau of Animal Industry under the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources, define its powers and functions, provide for its personnel, make appropriations for its operation, and change the name of the Bureau of Agriculture to the Bureau of Plant Industry.
The Bureau of Animal Industry is created under the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
The chief officials are the Director of Animal Industry and the Assistant Director of Animal Industry.
They must be either competent veterinary surgeons or persons well trained in animal husbandry.
Key functions include studying domestic animals' conditions, improving reproduction methods, controlling and eradicating dangerous communicable diseases, promoting livestock through fairs and exhibitions, collecting statistics, and disseminating information on domestic animals.
Domestic animals include horses, mules, asses, cattle, carabaos, hogs, sheep, goats, dogs, deer, fowls, and circus or show animals.
Diseases such as glanders or farcy, surra, anthrax, rinderpest, hemorrhagic septicemia, hog cholera, foot-and-mouth disease, contagious pleuro-pneumonia, hydrophobia, European fowl pest, fowl cholera, fowl typhoid, or any acute communicable disease causing over 5% mortality in one month.
The Director is subject to the general supervision and control of the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
The Bureau is vested with powers over animal quarantine, inspection, control of disease spread, regulation of the importation of viruses, serums, toxins for treatment, and use of rinderpest vaccine.
An appropriation of 20,000 pesos from the Insular Treasury is provided, along with funds from the General Appropriation Act, to cover salaries, traveling expenses, postal, telegraph, telephone, supplies, printing, and other services.
They were transferred to the Bureau of Animal Industry, including the veterinary section, animal husbandry section, quarantine stations, research laboratory, and stock farms.
It is renamed as the Bureau of Plant Industry.
The Director receives 7,200 pesos per annum and the Assistant Director 6,000 pesos per annum, with provisions for higher initial salaries under certain conditions not to exceed 12,000 pesos.
The Bureau is tasked to introduce improved or purebred domestic animals for breeding and improve breeds or types found in the Philippines.
Through demonstration and extension work, encouragement of fairs and exhibitions, collection and publication of statistics, and dissemination of useful information.