A 1904 amendment to the Animal Contagious Diseases Act first paid farmers a sum of money to encourage their slaughter of diseased animals and thus control the spread of infectious diseases. By 1950, farmers were receiving $40/head for the slaughter of grade cattle and $100/head for pure-bred animals that were infected with Mycobacterium bovis, known to cause TB infection in humans who consumed meat or milk from infected cattle. Another amendment to the Act in 1950 meant that farmers would get extra compensation if their meat was unfit for human consumption. Before this time, farmers who couldn’t sell their cattle to the abbatoir were at a disadvantage. This final amendment to the Act helped to further establish tuberculosis-free areas throughout the country and so reduced the danger of infected meat and milk.

Children in the sanatorium at Ft Qu'Appelle, Saskatchewan. Children were particularly susceptible to TB infection from contaminated milk, and they too, had to stay at the sanatorium.