Wildlife Disease News Digest

Dramatic Declines In Wild Salmon Populations Linked To Exposure To Farmed Salmon
Science Daily - www.sciencedaily.com (source: EurekAlert)
12 Feb 2008

Comparing the survival of wild salmonid populations in areas near salmon farms with unexposed populations reveals a large reduction in survival in the populations reared near salmon farms. Since the late 1970s, salmon aquaculture has grown into a global industry, producing over 1 million tons of salmon per year. However, this solution to globally declining fish stocks has come under increasing fire. In a new study Jennifer Ford and Ransom Myers provide the first evidence on a global scale illustrating systematic declines in wild salmon populations that come into contact with farmed salmon.

Previous studies have clearly shown that escaped farm salmon breed with wild populations to the detriment of the wild stocks, and that diseases and parasites are passed from farm to wild salmon. However, until now, there has been no assessment of the importance of these impacts at the population level and across the globe. Here, Ford & Myers compared the survival of salmon and trout that swim past salmon farms to the survival of those fish that never pass a salmon farm. In five regions around the world, Ford and Myers find a significant decline in the survival of wild salmon populations that are exposed to salmon farms.

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Controversial elk proposal reintroduced
Times-News - www.magicvalley.com
11 Feb 2008
M Christensen
Photo courtesy of Justin Jackson/Times-News
Area: Idaho United States

Wolves may be the hot wildlife issue this winter, but the battle over domestic elk farms is still smoldering. Legislators have reintroduced a bill this session, similar to a proposal that died last year, to ban new domestic elk farms and to close "shooter operations" - private elk farms where hunters who pay thousands can stalk trophy-size elk within an enclosure. Lawmakers say the bill has no chance again this year but introduced it as a political statement. "I filed the bill just so it would get printed," said Sen. David Langhorst, D-Boise, the assistant minority leader.

"I don't want to go through the same fight as last year. I just want to keep this issue alive." Critics of domestic elk operations, who include legislative Democrats, say the farms threaten to spread disease to wild herds should domestics escape. The issue exploded in 2006 when more than 100 elk escaped from an eastern Idaho farm owned by veterinarian Rex Rammell. The incident prompted then-Gov. Jim Risch to order an emergency hunt of Rammell's elk, which led to a showdown between the farmer and the state.

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Raccoons confirmed rabid
Bourne Courier - www.wickedlocal.com
12 Feb 2008
Area: Massachusetts United States

Bourne Health Agent Cynthia Coffin is encouraging townspeople to have their dogs and cats vaccinated now that two dead raccoons recovered in North Sagamore and Buzzards Bay were found to be rabid. The Department of Natural Resources removed the animals; one was road kill, the other was thought to have died from exposure. The state laboratory in Jamaica Plain confirmed rabies, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture is checking the intestines of the second animal. One raccoon was at Old Plymouth Road; the second was at Alpine Circle. A dog at Alpine Circle was found to have come in contact with the rabid raccoon, but Coffin said the pet is in no danger because it had been vaccinated.

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Rare case challenges wildlife rehab team
Edmonton Journal - www.canada.com
12 Feb 2008
D Thorne
Area: Alberta Canada

The volunteers were used to removing oil from waterfowl, but they'd never handled such a rarity as a contaminated snowy owl. So when someone brought in an oil-soaked snowy owl from north of Fort McMurray in November, members of the Wildlife Rehabilitation Society of Edmonton knew they faced a challenge. They had their doubts about being able to return it to the wild, although they were finally able to release it Monday. "When you wash oiled waterfowl, they're used to being in the water, obviously," said Kristin Arnot, the society's wildlife services director. "A snowy owl is not."

Arnot said a snowy owl is also far less likely to get oil in its feathers. The species likes to stay near white snow and ice where its light colouration provides camouflage. The owl had oil on about half of its body, although it's a mystery how it happened. "I honestly could not believe my ears that we were getting an oiled snowy owl into our shelter," Arnot said. Gordon Court, the provincial wildlife biologist, said he'd never heard of a snowy owl getting oiled. He said it would have died if not for the cleanup.

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