Well surprise, brucellosis has actually shown up in Montana livestock, and it didn’t come from bison. The news article says there is a possible link to elk. Well duh! Elk passed brucellosis to cattle in Wyoming and Idaho, and both states lost their “brucellosis free status.” I predicted it for years, while they were yelling about bison. In the Montana case, however, elk are only a possibility.
The article makes is sound like a catastrophe has happened, but that seems negotiable. In Wyoming the state’s loss of brucellosis-free status generated some newspaper attention and a governor’s task force which basically advocated doing nothing effective about the brucellosis in the state’s elk population. They tried an elk test and slaughter program at winter elk feedlot near Pinedale. My earlier story on that: Test and Slaughter a failure.
In Idaho, it barely made the news. I actually thought Idaho had regained its brucellosis free status about 6 months ago. Now we learn from this article that it hasn’t. That’s how big a deal it is in Idaho.
Story by Matthew Brown. AP (in numerous newspapers). Brucellosis confirmed in Montana cattle herd.
Today, was the first in a long time there was a news article about brucellosis in Idaho. Meetings set to discuss battle against brucellosis. Idaho Statesman staff.
Note: Baker, Montana isn’t anywhere near the Greater Yellowstone. It is a few miles west of the North Dakota border!
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