Kelland oversaw government responses to bovine tuberculosis (TB), sheep scab, rabies, and foot-and-mouth disease (FMD).

[1] When Kelland appeared on King George VI’s Coronation Honours list, the Veterinary Record claimed, “the initial enquiries which led to the discovery of rabies, in 1918, were made by Sir John” and that, “in addition to rabies, epizootic lymphangitis and glanders have been eradicated during the years 1902–1938 the span of Sir John’s service with the ministry”.

[5] Kelland said he intended to carry this policy forward to poultry-breeding stations and control contagious abortion in cattle.

[7] In 1930, Kelland's work at the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries involved experimenting with serum treatment believed to contain curative, if not preventive, qualities for FMD.

[13] Kelland viewed serum as a supplement, not a replacement for slaughter policies, as its use hindered early diagnosis and disease control.

[14] Kelland oversaw the ministry's response to the FMD outbreak in the South of England, this time controlling from London HQ.

Kelland led an inquiry into how exporters shipped horses from the United Kingdom to mainland Europe for slaughter.

Upon his death, The Times claimed, “the high standard of horses now exported from this country is largely attributable to his work on this matter.”[4] On Wednesday, 24 September 1958,[4] Kelland died at his home on the Isle of Wight.