The largely non-story (in Idaho) about Idaho losing its brucellosis free status has now ended. Idaho has been declared “brucellosis free” again.
Idaho cattle had been infected by Wyoming elk near the Wyoming border in, naturally, a winter elk feeding operation close to cattle.
Idaho media barely covered the story, and, of course, Wyoming the source of so many unsanitary elk feeding operations (with a few Idaho exceptions) were not fond of talking about it.
Montana news, however, for whom brucellosis seems so important, repeatedly pointed out the Idaho had lost its brucellosis free status.
Story in the Billings Gazette (Montana). Idaho declared brucellosis-free. By the Associated Press.
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Ralph Maughan
Dr. Ralph Maughan is professor emeritus of political science at Idaho State University with specialties in natural resource politics, public opinion, interest groups, political parties, voting and elections. Aside from academic publications, he is author or co-author of three hiking/backpacking guides, and he is past President of the Western Watersheds Project.
With the power of the ranching interests such as they are, wouldn’t be a far stretch, at least from where I stand, to reason that a brucellosis free status could be manipulated too. Isn’t it the USDA that both sets limitations and performs the testing?
This is absolutely rediculous! As if it really mattered! Idaho certainly hasn’t lost any beef-biz from Oregon. The butchers in OR aren’t worried. The one comment I found interesting was when they said they do not buy beef from Montana, because it is not good quality. The customers complained it was not quality beef and did not taste good. The customers did not know where the beef came from. {State of origin is not printed on the packages}
I found it very interesting that info about bison from the USDA says that bison do not overgraze and that they do not hang around water sources, they do not cause damage to river banks, creeks etc.. They will graze many miles from water because they do not need much water.
Idaho killed the only bull bison to enter the state since 2001 last week. The Department of Agriculture claimed that “there aren’t any wild bison in Idaho”. That would be correct. They killed the only one.