USDA Halts Plan to Import Canadian Elk: TWRA Sought 160 Animals for State
Commercialappeal.com
13 Feb 2007
Bryan Brasher
Area: Tennessee
Tennessee's controversial plan to import 160 live elk from Canada has received a fatal blow from the United States Department of Agriculture. The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency had hoped to bring the animals in by ground transportation as early as this month from Elk Island National Park in Alberta. But late last week, USDA officials refused to approve the necessary permits, citing multiple disease concerns. "We have sent a letter to the Tennessee Governor's Office, notifying them that we could not allow this shipment of elk to be brought into the country," said Andrea McNally of USDA.
"The Canadian Food Inspection Agency was not able to certify that this herd is free of tuberculosis -- which is one of our standard requirements." McNally said the USDA also requires thorough disease-testing records for each animal brought into the country, beginning at that animal's birth. Canadian officials could not provide those records -- and likely will never be able to for the herd in question. "There's certainly a chance that Tennessee could look elsewhere and try to get some animals from another herd," McNally said.
Disease Killing Geese Not a Threat: Humans Safe from Sickness
Iowa City Press-Citizen
13 Feb 2007
Brian Morelli
Area: Iowa
Johnson County residents and their pets should not be alarmed by reports of dead and sick Canada geese, a local Department of Natural Resources spokesman said Monday. Joe Wilkinson said his DNR colleague, Tim Thompson, has been receiving calls since Friday. He has collected three dead geese and two sick geese along the Iowa River in Coralville and just south of Iowa City. "It's not a disease that transfers to humans.
It's not a disease that transfers to other animals," Wilkinson said. "(An animal) won't be harmed by eating it." Thompson has sent samples to a wildlife lab in Wisconsin to determine the cause of the deaths and illnesses, and he hopes to get results by the end of the week, Wilkinson said. Wilkinson said the symptoms -- listlessness, drooping necks, bills pointed skyward -- are consistent with an ingested fungus called aspergillosis.
Outdoors Almanac: Northwest Deer Culling to Begin
StarTribune.com
12 Feb 2007
Doug Smith
Area: Minnesota
Federal sharpshooters will begin killing deer in a 135-square-mile area of northwestern Minnesota next week. The drastic action is an attempt to reduce the spread of bovine tuberculosis in both the wild deer herd and domestic cattle herds in that region. Bovine TB has been found in seven cattle herds and two wild deer in the area. State officials are seeking cooperation from local residents, because the deer culling must occur on both private and public lands, said Michelle Power, Department of Natural Resources wildlife health program coordinator.
"This is a short-term sacrifice," she said. "Reducing the number of wild deer infected with bovine TB now, while the problem is in only a few deer in a localized area, will protect the long-term health of Minnesota's deer population and minimize the risk of deer-to-deer or deer-to-cattle transmission of the disease." Officials will be going door-to-door this week providing detailed information about the deer herd-reduction plan. And a public meeting is set for 7 p.m. Thursday at the Wannaska Elementary School in Wannaska, about 15 miles south of Roseau.
Nebraska Officials Investigate Reports of Rabid Wild Pigs
Southwest Nebraska News
12 Feb 2007
Area: Nebraska
The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission has informed the Nebraska Department of Agriculture (NDA) of an investigation of pseudorabies in wild pigs in the Genoa area. The two agencies are working closely together to share vital information. Wild pigs, believed to be hybrids of domestic hogs and Eurasian wild boars, were killed in Nance County by the Commission, according to Sam Wilson, the agency's furbearer program manager. Tests at the University of Nebraska Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory revealed a positive result of pseudorabies.
Removal efforts continue in the area, and any observations of wild pigs should be immediately reported to the Commission at (402) 471-5174. "We are working to prevent the spread of the disease in order to protect the economic and agricultural interest of the state," said Dr. Dennis Hughes, State Veterinarian. Pseudorabies, which is not considered a health threat to humans, is a contagious viral disease of animals that primarily affects swine. It is transmitted through nasal and oral secretions, food, water and the environment. Other animals such as cattle, sheep, goats, dogs and cats can also be infected.
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