Jackson Hole herd heads for slaughter

[TransitJohn]

Friday, December 03, 2004

JACKSON (AP) -- Some 550 cattle -- a mix of Hereford and Angus heifers, cows and bulls -- are being shipped to slaughter after four of the animals tested positive for brucellosis.

The slaughter process, which began Wednesday, ends an era in Jackson Hole ranching, wiping out the Porter family's registered cattle bloodline and casting doubt on the future of the 822-acre ranch, which has been the focus of numerous development plans.

The alternative for the families running the ranch was a year of extensive testing and quarantine.

About 200 heifer calves, 6 to 7 months old, will be spared by being spayed and sold to a rancher in Sublette County. Once spayed, the calves do not pose a danger, according to Bret Combs, a veterinarian with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

The herd's destruction wipes out a Hereford bloodline developed through decades of breeding. Four generations of the Robert Bruce Porter family have raised cattle on the ranch since the 1930s, often buying the best bulls to build their stock.

http://www.casperstartribune.net/articles/2004/12/03/news/abf133468d08e1e487256f5f0004fabc.txt

[Goathead]

1. "...which has been the focus of numerous development plans."

When I read that, it struck me. Maybe the developers are doing a little biological warfare to get the ranchers to sell. I would not put it past them. This may also be bad for the bison herds in Yellowstone and Jackson Hole, if they get pinned as the source of the brucellosis, it will give the USDA and local ranchers all the reason to go into Yellowstone and slaughter those herds as well, something they have been itching to do for a long time.

[Kagemusha]

2. Even if it's so

Without proof it's just a private tragedy.

[Dr.Phool]

3. Especially if you're the cow!!

:evilgrin:

[Ima]

14. I think your right

Voters rejected the most recent annexation plan in 2002 by a 2-to-1 ratio. The town's development plan would have allowed the construction of 1,850 homes and 475,000 square feet of commercial space

[blindpig]

19. the obvious thing to do

is to raise bison. Much lower overhead, easier on the land and a leaner, heathier product. I hope those folks have some kind of insurance to make the obvious option possible for them.

[DenaliDemocrat]

28. Bison

can and do carry brucillosis as well. Hell, even dogs can have it.

[TransitJohn]

29. Actual;ly

the cattle probably got the brucellosis from bison.

[NickB79]

31. Unlikely from bison, probably from elk

Wild bison are largely confined to Yellowstone National Park by culling, while elk roam freely through much of the Rocky Mountains range. Both carry brucellosis. Also, there haven't been any confirmed cases of bison ever infecting cattle with brucellosis, despite claims they threaten cattle herds (and thus to justify the cullings).

[MuseRider]

4. Were they unable

to collect and freeze semen? Somehow I can't believe if this herd was so important that they didn't do that. Is brucellosis in semen? Sorry, I guess I need to look up brucellosis.

[TransitJohn]

5. There you go

turning this into a sex thread. :evilgrin: :evilgrin:

[MuseRider]

9. HeeHee sorry.

In the horse breeding business, or was. Could not help myself.

[Rush1184]

27. cows huh?

kinky

j/k

[Goathead]

7. It is a reproductive disease, so I would imagine so

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dbmd/diseaseinfo/brucellosis_g.htm#whatis

[MuseRider]

10. Thanks

I looked at your source and another and it still seems they could have afforded to protect the blood lines with some treatment and AI.

Edit: At least with a few good bulls and cows

[Goathead]

13. Not cost effective

I think that making $$$ is more imporatant to some ranchers than maintaining a historic blood line. Some ranchers are sentimental about the land and history though.

[Bono71]

21. Yes, it is spread through contact with genetalia...and can

pose risks to humans because it is extremely contagious. When I was 8, my dog got it, and we had to put him down :(

[Bridget Burke]

6. "The alternative for the families running the ranch ...

"... was a year of extensive testing and quarantine."

The article didn't say why this was economically impossible. Ranching is hard work. Between their compensation & money gained from selling off to developers, they do quite well.

[Goathead]

8. Especially in Jackson Hole

That is some prime real estate. I am sure they drive Land Rovers and hang out with Harrison Ford.;)

[prairierose]

16. Paying for all of the testing and being unable

to sell any livestock would be very expensive for any rancher. No income just out go.

[sandnsea]

11. "Compensated at market value"

So let me get this straight, several ranch families are going to get oodles of money from the federal government to compensate for the loss of a valuable Hereford bloodline AND they just happen to be sitting on prime development land. Hmmmm...

[Ima]

15. One big family

http://216.239.57.104/search?q=cache:FS7Nl4Gn0eoJ:www.ci.jackson.wy.us/agendas/pkts/021102wk/ANNEXATIONAGREEMENTDoc2-8-02.pdf+Robert+B+Porter+JACKSON+OR+wyoming&hl=en&lr=lang_en




I tried to C+P a page...but it wouldn't let me.:argh:

[sandnsea]

18. Hardeman too?

I was referring to this, not the 3 families listed. Is this guy family too?

"..Wilson rancher Steve Hardeman was forced to destroy 100 head of cattle last summer after one old cow tested positive.

Hardeman's cattle had commingled with the Hereford herd in South Park, and the cases are believed to be linked."

[Ima]

22. couldn't tell for sure

but I wouldn't be surprised if they were related.




There does seam to be an effort to get rid of the cattel.


"The "greenies" don't want cattle anywhere on government land in the north-west part of the state, so don't want the buffalo or elk vaccinated, although some have been."

[sandnsea]

23. That makes no sense

If environmentalists think elk and bison will win over cattle, they're delusioned. They need to co-exist and most environmentalists I know agree with that. I do hope you're not confusing PETA psychos with environmentalists, they aren't the same at all.

[Ima]

24. info

Don't know ...jusy copied remark on ranching forum.

http://www.unep-wcmc.org/protected_areas/data/sample/0051u.htm


Management Constraints The commercial airport in the park and its associated noise, private inholdings and residences in the park, elk hunting, domestic livestock grazing and a dam on Jackson Lake make up the disturbances.

[sandnsea]

25. Grand Teton National Park???

Sorry, have no idea what your point is. The park isn't there for the purpose of grazing cattle. If environmentalists are trying to get cattle out of a National Park, good for them. I had no idea we were letting cattle graze in national parks in the first place and I tend to keep up with that kind of thing.

[TransitJohn]

30. Not sure if yoiu know

but "greenie" specifically means a Colorodoan, if you're from Wyoming.

[medeak]

12. more propaganda for my local ranchers

this is all we need.

thank goodness we found petrified big horn sheep horn in a tree to prove in court they predated the cattle. Fought us tooth and nail to bring in herd that were indigenous to mountains

[sandnsea]

17. That's a new one

They actually tried to say cattle were in the US before the big horn sheep??? I guess I shouldn't be surprised, would love to hear more.

[blindpig]

20. love it

I've had locals swear that the gov is introducing coyote and puma in SC to control deer numbers. Also that they have seen "black panthers". One country lawyer type claimed that a small dark cat(olingo?)was being introduced into the southern Appalachians. This is what we're up against, folks.

[ecoalex]

26. Brucellosis controversy

As an eco farmer, I know of alternative philosophies on brucellosis. The Homeopathic have remedies, douches, the Nutritionists have a nutritional regimen . The alternative view is that brucellosis is a nutritional deficiency , not a bacterial disease.Ecological Soil nutritionists, like Dr Albrecht, have proven that brucellosis can be "fed out" of animals "curing them". They no longer were positive testors with the blood test for brucellosis. Humans can get Undulant fever, a nasty disease.

Clinical description :

The disease spreads into the blood after ingestion and absorption from the gut. It reaches the lymph system and spleen which enlarge in an attempt to stop further progression of the disease. During this reaction the patient starts to experience the characteristic bouts of fever.

The disease is not usually fatal, but the intermittent fevers (a source of its nickname, "undulant fever") can be exhausting. The patient maybe febrile for 4 months before remitting to develop fever one month later. Symptoms usually appear between five days and a month after exposure and begin with a single bout of high fever accompanied by shivering, aching, and drenching sweats that last for a few days. Other symptoms may include headache, poor appetite, backache, weakness, and depression. Mental depression can be so severe that the patient may become suicidal.

In rare, untreated cases, the disease can become so severe that it leads to fatal complications, such as pneumonia or bacterial meningitis. B. melitensis can cause miscarriages, especially during the first three months of pregnancy. The condition can also occur in a chronic form, in which symptoms recur over a period of months or years.

A combination antibiotic therapy, such as doxycycline and rifampin or an aminoglycoside, is recommended to treat and prevent relapse of infection. Longer courses of therapy may be required for complications

[NickB79]

32. If it's a nutritional deficiency

Why does treatment with antibiotics work?