Tuberculosis in Oregon "domestic" elk herd.

TheRogue · 01-22-2002, 07:44 PM

Don't know if anyone noticed, kind of hidden in the news....

from the OREGONIAN

TB in Oregon Elk herd contained

1/17/02

KIMBERLYDue to the vigilance of a local elk rancher and the effectiveness of a national tuberculosis program, TB that appeared in a domestic elk herd in Oregon has been discovered and contained. As detailed in the USDA's Tuberculosis Eradication program protocols, which were approved in 1994, the rancher has quarantined the remaining elk herd and will monitor the animals for signs of the disease.

The news of the appearance of TB in Oregon hit close to home for Mike Kilpatrick of Mt. Vernon, Oregon, current President of the North American Elk Breeders Association (NAEBA). Rest of the story:

http://www.oregonlive.com/news/argus...0142538262.xml

The report from the ODFW:

http://www.dfw.state.or.us/public/Ne.../c-tb_updt.pdf

I have been told by someone close to the process that ODFW will randomly kill a number of wild animals in the immediate area to test for TB.

Why do we allow this farce of Elk Ranching to continue?? Our wonderful Oregon legislature managed to shove through the "domestic livestock elk" bill, which means, while there won't be any more new ranches at this time, there is an incentive to expand these ranch populations for local sale of meat and parts...which were originally not allowed in Oregon!!

http://www.leg.state.or.us/01orlaws/0783.pdf

ARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

kyle

birdhunter · 01-22-2002, 09:12 PM

What bull!

Not you Kyle (thanks for bringing this up), but this article is such BULL!

I work at the Veterinary Diagnostic lab that confirmed the presence of TB in that elk. We told them this a long time ago, but what do ODFW and the elk ranchers have to say: "There's no TB in Oregon's elk, you guys must have really screwed up your tests." Of course not! There couldn't be TB in Oregon because that would make the legislature look like fools for allowing this farce known as "elk ranching". We wouldn't want ODFW to be wrong, or elk ranchers to lose money. Let's take another month to test this elk at the National Veterinary Diagnostic Lab.

Of course the results come back the same. Gee wiz! Unbelievable. Now the rancher and ODFW get credit for their "vigilance" and "containing the herd". Yeah, lets ingnore the fact that the rancher's faulty fences allowed WILD elk to mingle in w/ the diseased herd for most of the fall. Thank god he was out there, preventing it from getting any worse. Let's praise the elk rancher for his "vigilance"!

If we didn' have wild game ranches, none of this would be an issue. What is wrong w/ people!!!

If you can't tell, I'm more than a little ****** about this one.

[ 01-22-2002: Message edited by: birdhunter ]</p>

TheRogue · 01-22-2002, 09:31 PM

Yep, I was also told that there was a lot of "co-mingling" during the rut.....can't keep those things on just one side of the fence when they're hot and bothered.

And I never would've known about this, if not for a law enforcement buddy of mine who happens to be a complete hunting freak, and has lots of law connections across the west who are just like him.

But what to do??

kyle

Norm · 01-24-2002, 09:56 AM

That herd should have beem isolated and exterminated immediatly upon detection. Somebody dropped the ball on that one. I also think the rancher should eat the costs assosiated with controlling and testing.As you can tell I'm not a fan of elk ranching.

TheRogue · 01-24-2002, 06:00 PM

I think, I'm not sure, that it would have happened that way hand the EMERGENCY "livestock" bill not taken effect on Sept. 1st, transferring jurisdiction from the ODFW to the OR Dept. of Agriculture.....hmmmmm, I wonder if someone knew something back at the start of the year??

BuKuBass · 01-31-2002, 02:46 PM

300 wild elk and deer to be killed because game rancher's ****up. [URL=http://www.oregonlive.com/outdoors/ and click on NOTEBOOK. I've taken alot of game near there and now this!

BuKuBass · 01-31-2002, 04:58 PM

Here's the link web page

roundbelly · 03-04-2002, 07:03 AM

these farmed elk are a real problem. i feel the wildlife should belong to the people of the state period.
there is a problem with both the tb and the cwd or cronic wasting in both deer and elk. this is found from canada to south dakota to wyoming and colorado. as we speak the fish and game in south dakota are killing 400 deer to check for cwd and the colorado/wyoming depts are killing 400 to look for both cwd and tb. what a waste, all because some people want to fence in wildlife.

bigshark · 03-04-2002, 08:25 PM

Anyone on this board willing to enlighten me as to what we are really facing here. I suppose the
entire elk population is at risk if unchecked. What about people? Could a rancher contract TB from an elk and then spread it to others? What about deer or any other mammal? Birds?

birdhunter · 03-04-2002, 10:06 PM

Elk TB could be potentially spread to other cervids (ie deer). It would probably remain in the elk population though. It is spread through nose to nose contact, something that isnt' really common in the wild. That is how it transfers so easily in domestic animals kept in cramped conditions however. If TB is found in the wild, it is very probelmatic to beef ranchers. While the cattle probably won't get it, the fact that there is a TB reservoir in the wild is enough for Oregon beef to loose it's TB free status and face problems in export. Not a good thing for anyone. The likelihood of spreading it to humans is very very minimal. Birds would be impossible. You'd need an avian stain of TB, the type we are talking about is host specific and is most likely to reside in elk, but has the potential to be spread to other mammals. Not very likely however. I mean, how often do deer and elk come into nose to nose contact?

willametteriveroutlaw · 03-04-2002, 11:58 PM

Not to argue with you birdhunter, But elk cows nuzzle their calves and bulls have nose to nose contact alot during the rut with both cows and other bulls. Espically when their herded up after calving. One infected cow could easily sniff other calves noses who sniff their mothers. See the potential. Same with deer but not to that big of extent. The reason that there is a serious fear is that wild bulls came into contact with the captive cows during the breeding season. Predators and scavengers can also carry and transimt the disease as well. If this spreads if will be a huge SNAFU for ranchers and hunters.

birdhunter · 03-05-2002, 08:26 AM

WRO - No, you're right on about elk being able to spread it to other elk. I just don't think that the nose to nose contact is as common as you would see in domesticated stock. They don't feed out of the same trough and aren't kept in cramped conditions. Surely a cow could give it to her calf very easily, or a bull could potentially get it from a cow (most of the elk mating I've seen though doesn't involve too much cuddling after the fact, more chasing and therefore less potential for infection). TB is spread though prolonged nose to nose contact. Just sniffing wouldn't qualify. I suppose if the cow sneezed......there are a lot of possibilites out there for transfer, but it isn't as easy as you might think in wild animals.

Predatory animals and scavengers could also get the disease, but they would have to ingest infected tissue. Not too many predators eat the lungs of their kills. By the time most scavengers arrive, the core body temperature of the animal will have dropped too low to support TB. My understanding of TB is that it is very fragile and does not survive for very long outside of a host. Of course it is a very real and legitimate possibility, but I don't think it's going to become an epidemic. Doesn't mean we still shouldn't be very concerned and watchful. If something can go wrong........

willametteriveroutlaw · 03-05-2002, 09:52 PM

TB is really a drop in the barrel compared to CWD. And it seems that where that TB is found, CWD soon shows up. Its not that I have anything against the people themselves who own the elk farms. I think don't think that it worth the risk to have them in oregon. There are only 15 here right now. I'd really like to see them outlawed. As much as I hate to see 15 familys lose their livelyhood. I'd hate to lose the chance for my kids (future) to hunt elk in or. Or to see guides, gunshops, and sporting goods retailers go out of business. Much less see close friends of mine who own ranches (cattle) have there herds contaminated with TB. Plus I don't want my tax dollars, that should be going to hatcheries or schools or roads..etc, going to buy out some elk ranchers herd when they show up contaminated. Even though he bought elk from a herd that was just out of quarantine. O.K. deep breaths

willametteriveroutlaw · 03-05-2002, 10:02 PM

Birdhunter your right about contact not being as present in the wild as captivity. Its just that it can still be easily spread in the wild. In mighican it is thought that the white tail deer there got TB from captive elk if I read it right. Tb in certain strains can be very hearty. I heard in TX there is a strain of anthrax that was transmitted through deer in there farms that killed a large number of their deer. I know this is going to step on someones toes, but I also never want to see a high fence operation oregon. If you can't chase it on its own terms, don't chase it. Its hunting, not killing. I had a rather legnthy discussion with a hunter from texas who explained how things went on canned hunts. Its not morally right for me.