N.D. widlife officials monitor cattle tests

Tests have been conducted in the South West part of North Dakota for bovine tuberculosis which is a disease that is easily transmitted to wildlife. One state official call this, “very expensive, very complex and very ugly business.” The state Game & Fish Department is hoping that will never happen since there has never been a recorded wild TB instance. So the idea is to stop it in its tracks and hopefully save the problem. This way if TB gets out, it can be contained and hopefully eradicated before it hits wild animals and becomes a reservoir and infects other animals that the infected animal comes in contact with. Randal Kreil, a wildlife official, says, “this is a livestock issue, and we’re just preparing in case wildlife is affected.” The testing of cattle began after a cow was diagnosed positive for the TB disease because of lesions on the meat found at a processing plant in Long Prairie, MN. Since the testing has not been completed yet, the source of the herd has not been identified yet after going through 200 head of cattle. The State Veterinarian Susan Keller says that in the initial screening, which is done at the base of the tail turned up 28 animals that are in question. Those 28 head have been euthanized and thus far no more animals in question have popped up. In the last 30 years, North Dakota has been TB free and thus far looks to be ok, but only if there is not another case within the next two years. If a herd was tested positive for bovine TB, then it could be transmitted to all the large game in North Dakota and possible back to another herd of cattle. Kreil took what happened in North Western MN as an example of what might happen in North Dakota if a case of TB were to get out to wild populations. Kreil says that if there are any suspicions about a wild TB instance, the Game & Fish would euthanize any animal within a certain estimated contamination distance and would test every animal killed. This would take millions of dollars and huge amount of man power to control and conduct this type of containment. The last time a positive test was done in North Dakota was in 1999 in Morton County. The entire herd was destroyed to contain the disease. During this infected time and area, there were no signs of wild animals within 25 miles. Now with this new problem at the Game & Fish’s door step, the possibility of wild animals coming in contact is greater and most likely possible. With the help of hunters, the Game & Fish test for both TB and Chronic Wasting Disease. Kreil says, “at this point, it remains a livestock issue, but we’re working very closely with the state veterinarian’s office to not make it a wildlife issue.” Here are some web site links to look up for additional information:
http://gf.nd.gov/
http://www.agdepartment.com/Programs/Livestock/BOAH/BOAH.html
I personally believe that someday, we will have to face TB or even Chronic Wasting Disease within this state. All the other states around us and provinces have had a case very close to this state and that makes a lot of Game & Fish officials very uneasy since it’s a very contagious disease to wildlife and makes it a living hell for animals to live with. So the best thing us hunters and people who deal with cattle or wild animals can do is being able to identify a sick animal and properly understand the situation and contact your local Game & Fish authority!!!