Ranchers Hope for Brucellosis Answers

Boulder, WY – Governor Freudenthal is setting up a task force to respond to the brucellosis cases in a Sublette County cattle herd. One item that will get plenty of attention is the elk of the Greater Yellowstone area that are known brucellosis carriers. Efforts to vaccinate elk have not been too successful. Plus many winter feedgrounds seem to be areas where the disease can spread easily. Joel Bousman is a Sublette County Rancher, whose neighbor owned the brucellosis-infected cattle. To keep the disease out of cattle herds, Bousman thinks the state should look at moving the location of feedgrounds to create more separation between elk and cattle. He thinks a limited degree of test and slaughter may be appropriate. Bousman also calls for better communication with ranchers, letting them know if there are elk near their cattle that have high levels of infection.