Canadian veterinary officer and politician. Born in Mountain Cross (Scottish Borders), Rutherford emigrated for Canada where he was educated Ontario Agricultural College and the Ontario Veterinary College, graduating from the latter institution in 1879. He practised in Canada, the USA and Mexico as a veterinary surgeon before settling in Manitoba in 1884. He was appointed the Veterinary Inspector of Manitoba in 1887. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba (1892-96) and as a Member of the Canadian Parliament in Ottawa (1897 - 1900). He was appointed Chief Veterinary Inspector (later Veterinary Director-General) of Canada (1902-12) and Dominion Livestock Commissioner (1906-12). In 1908 he was elected President of the American Veterinary Medical Association and he served in the senior position of Superintendent of Agriculture and Animal Industry for the Canadian Pacific Railway (1912-18), a role in which he was able to concentrate on animal husbandry.
He died in Ottawa, having done much to modernise the veterinary profession in Canada, improving the standard of veterinary education and bringing the Ontario Veterinary College under the management of the University of Toronto and the Ontario government.