| CHEYENNE
-- When brucellosis was detected in a Campbell
County cattle herd last year, word spread quickly, and
the livestock owners' names were widely reported.
Later, doubts were cast on the veracity of the test
results, but the family's name was already part of public
discourse.
Under a bill approved by the Wyoming Senate on Thursday,
names of livestock owners with diseased cattle -- suspected
or confirmed -- would be closely guarded and only the
state veterinarian and state health officer could release
their identities to the public.
That's fine with Rick McNees, who ranches south of Yoder.
If a livestock producer's name is linked to a cattle
disease and follow-up testing later clears the herd
of any illness, it's difficult to remove the cloud of
suspicion, he said.
"There's always going to be that doubt in everybody's
mind," he said.
But McNees likes a provision that would allow release
of the information to adjacent landowners.
"It's just like the mad cow disease," he said.
"I think your neighbors should be the first on
the list to know."
Livestock officials and researchers for decades have
attempted to eradicate brucellosis, which causes cattle,
bison and elk to abort.
But the ailment still appears from time to time despite
an ongoing vaccination campaign and efforts to separate
livestock from free-roaming elk and bison in the Yellowstone
area that might have the disease.
Not including the questionable Campbell County incident,
four cases of the illness were confirmed in Wyoming
from November 2003 to November 2004, causing the state
to lose its federally designated brucellosis-free status
and subjecting ranchers to stringent testing requirements.
The legislation that was approved Thursday, besides
limiting release of information, would strengthen reporting
requirements of producers and veterinarians.
The bill would allow the state veterinarian to develop
a list of reportable diseases that would include high-profile
illnesses such as hoof-and-mouth, mad cow, anthrax and
brucellosis plus those more prevalent in Wyoming. Diseases
affecting pets and small domestic animals would also
be listed.
Anyone failing to report a malady on the list would
be subject to a misdemeanor, as would someone who willfully
falsifies a report.
The information would be used to help track the source
of a disease, according to former State Veterinarian
Jim Logan, who helped draft the bill.
The state veterinarian at his own discretion could release
the information to the Livestock Board, State Veterinary
Laboratory, Wyoming Game and Fish director, disease
investigators and owners of livestock that had contact
with the suspect herd.
The state veterinarian, when he deems it to be in the
best interest of animal health, or the state public
health officer, when he deems it to be in the best interests
of human public health, would be allowed to release
the information to the public.
A second measure passed by the Senate would clarify
compensation paid by the state to owners whose diseased
livestock are condemned.
Under the measure, the owner would receive the difference
between the market value at the time of quarantine and
the amount received for the sale -- minus any reimbursement
provided by the federal government.
In addition, the legislation would allow the governor
to authorize the state veterinarian to require testing
of cattle, including those at sale barns, after a brucellosis
outbreak has been confirmed.
Both bills, passed 30-0, will be returned to the House
for a vote on changes made by the Senate.
The Legislature responded last year to the initial cases
of brucellosis by appropriating $1.6 million to help
defray the cost of testing cattle, $220,000 for two
new technicians at the State Veterinary Lab, and $125,000
for Gov. Dave Freudenthal's brucellosis task force.
This year, the supplemental budget bill contains additional
money for wildlife disease researchers, and another
measure would maintain secrecy of livestock disease
records maintained by the veterinary lab.
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