Cougar found cattin’ around (in Wisconsin)

DNR confirms sighting, will wait a bit on chase

Cougar found cattin’ around
Milwaukee Wisconsin Journal Sentinel

Bighorn battle could doom sheep ranchers

Idaho Sheep Ranchers are Struggling Against Reality.

The law and science are not on their side so they are pressuring the State to come up with a solution to protect them.

Bighorn Sheep in the East Fork Salmon River Canyon. Photo © Ken Cole

On Thursday February 26th the second meeting of what is being called the “Bighorn Sheep/Domestic Sheep Advisory Group” was held in Boise. At this meeting there was no discussion of bighorn sheep (BHS) and domestic sheep (DS) issues just introductions and discussions about process and ground rules.

These issues were described as “non-negotiables”

*Group is advisory, no regulatory or legal authority.
*Idaho wants bighorn sheep and domestic sheep.
*Group is collaborative. Will develop collaborative recommendations & Products.

It appears that science and reality are against the goal of maintaining viable bighorn sheep populations as well as viable domestic sheep operations.

Domestic sheep and goats carry diseases which have little effect on their own health but can kill bighorn sheep and there is a consensus among biologists that this is true although a particular pathogen has not been identified in every case. It could be a single pathogen, multiple pathogens, or a suite of pathogens that kill BHS but it has been documented on many occasions that contact with DS results in the death of BHS by pneumonia. In some cases the disease kills animals in all age classes.