Slough Contains 'Nasty' Contaminants Environment Groups Worry about Affects on Wildlife
Maple Ridge News
19 May 2007
P Melnychuk
Photo courtesy of Simone Ponne/The News
Area: Canada
A pesticide related to the nerve gases developed in 1930s is lurking in the waters of Katzie Slough, a few hundred metres north of Lougheed Highway. Diazinon, one of the organophosphate group of insecticides, works by disrupting nerve function in insects. If concentrations are large enough, the effects are the same for people. The contaminant was one of 31 found during a May 2006 sampling of water from Katzie Slough at Harris Road during an Environment Canada study.
"Diazinon, that's nasty; 0.5 of a microgram [a millionth of a gram] – that's fairly high," said Keith Tierney, an SFU bresearcher. Many of the contaminants were at the nanogram (a billionth of a gram) per litre of water. Put another way, they were measured in parts per trillion, and few chemicals are toxic at that level. But effects on wildlife start to be noticed at the microgram per litre of water.
Brucellosis Confirmed in Montana Herd
Bozeman Daily Chronicle
21 May 2007
S McMillon
Area: Montana USA
It's finally happened. Brucellosis was confirmed this week in domestic cattle in Montana, in a herd near Bridger. Since 1985, the state's beef herds have been certified as free of the disease, which causes cattle to abort their first calf after infection. Fear of brucellosis drives most of Montana's controversial efforts to limit bison moving into the state from Yellowstone National Park. However, Gov. Brian Schweitzer said Friday that it doesn't appear the outbreak is linked to bison. “These are not cattle that ever commingled with buffalo,” he said by telephone Friday.
The outbreak affects seven cows traced to a ranch in Bridger, a small town south of Laurel and far from any Yellowstone bison. Schweitzer said some of the infected cattle might have spent time in the Emigrant area in Paradise Valley, about 25 miles from the park's northern boundary. “That still doesn't mean buffalo” are the source of the disease, he said. “Buffalo don't make it to Emigrant.” A small percentage of elk also carry brucellosis, and elk wander more widely than bison.
State Wildlife Agencies Fear the Discovery of CWD in Their Wild Herds of Whitetails Because of the Devastating Impact It Could Have on Hunter Participation
The Patriot-News (Posted by pennlive.com)
20 May 2007
Area: West Virginia USA
More deer with CWD found in West Virginia
The West Virginia Division of Natural Resources has announced that three more free-ranging white-tailed deer have tested positive for chronic wasting disease in Hampshire County, which is about 15 miles south of Bedford County, Pa. First identified in 1967 in Colorado, CWD is a transmissible, always fatal, disease that affects cervids, including all species of deer, elk and moose. Scientists theorize it is caused by an agent capable of transforming normal brain proteins into an abnormal form. State wildlife agencies fear the discovery of CWD in their wild herds of whitetails because of the devastating impact it could have on hunter participation. It was first confirmed in Hampshire County in September 2005 and has been confirmed in free-ranging or captive cervid populations in 13 states and two Canadian provinces, including New York, but not in Pennsylvania.
The three most recent whitetails in West Virginia were found among samples collected from 101 deer taken in March and April by DNR personnel as part of an ongoing CWD surveillance effort. The Hampshire County total is now 13. They were collected within the CWD Containment Area located north of Rt. 50 in Hampshire County. When CWD was first confirmed in Hampshire County, the DNR immediately implemented its CWD -- Incident Response Plan. As part of that plan, the DNR has been engaged in CWD surveillance efforts designed to determine the distribution and prevalence of the disease, including deer collection teams of biologists, wildlife managers and conservation officers.
Research to Protect KangaroosGeneticArcheology.com
17 May 2007
Area: Australia
A PhD student from James Cook University hopes her research will help defend Australian shores from an exotic wasting disease which, in the event of an outbreak, could have devastating implications for the iconic kangaroo. Kirsty Van Hennekeler has spent four years studying Surra, the disease caused by a parasite of the mammalian blood system which causes fever, weakness, and lethargy and can lead to weight loss, anaemia and even death in an infected animal. The JCU vet has specifically been looking at the March fly as a potential vector of Trypanosoma evansi, the protozoa which causes Surra. "Surra is not in Australia at the moment but it is of high quarantine risk and a major threat to our biosecurity socially, economically and environmentally," she said.
The major concern associated with an incursion of Surra is that not only will the production animal industries suffer; but it would have a significant impact on our country's native wildlife. The disease is transmitted through blood residue left on the mouth of a March fly within six hours of feeding from an infected animal. "It appears that marsupials, like wallabies and kangaroos, are severely affected by this disease and suffer a high mortality rate," Ms Van Hennekeler said. Surra is already found in Africa, the Middle East and, more pertinent for Australia, northern Indonesia, East Timor and the Philippines.
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