| Yellowstone Bison Slaughter
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| News
Article 1/24/05 |
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| State
to test brucellosis-infected elk on feeding grounds
AP, Casper Star Tribune
1/24/05 |
JACKSON,
Wyo. (AP) - The Wyoming Game and Fish Department
will kill 18 elk from the Alpine and South Park feeding
grounds to test whether brucellosis is as widespread as
it appears.
After years of decline, brucellosis in elk on the Alpine
feedground appears to have risen from 9 percent of the
population to 59 percent, said Hank Edwards, a wildlife
disease specialist with the agency.
''It's very puzzling as to why after years of testing
showed a steady decline in seroprevalence we would suddenly
see such a drastic increase in exposure to the disease,''
Edwards said. ''Unfortunately, the only way to tell if
these elk really have brucellosis is to culture tissue
samples from a necropsy,'' the veterinary version of an
autopsy.
Fifteen elk will be harvested from the Alpine feedground,
the other three from South Park.
Brucellosis is a disease that can cause cattle, bison,
elk and other animals to abort their calves. The disease
is found in free-ranging elk and bison around Yellowstone
National Park, and has been found in some cattle in Teton
County.
Researchers hope to determine if the brucellosis strain
found in the cattle can be linked to animals in and around
the park.
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