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Article 11/27/07 |
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Guest
Opinion: Cattle industry not the only
consideration in brucellosis debate
Bozeman Daily Chronicle
11/27/07 |
I'm
a home and business owner living on Horse Butte. Having
experienced first hand the Montana Department of Livestock's
(DOL) aggressive conduct and arrogant attitude toward
me, and my neighbors, forced me to educate myself.
According to Public Health Assessment of Potential Biological
Terrorism Agents prepared by the federal Centers for Disease
Control, brucellosis is a category B bacterium, while
Anthrax, a much more serious bacteria, is placed in category
A. In the CDC brucellosis overview, brucella melentesis
and brucella suis are considered more important than brucella
abortus in terms of public health security and preparedness.
They say wild bison do not pose a human health danger.
Yellowstone bison carry a gene known as natural resistance
associated macrophage protein 1 (NRAMP1). The DNA sequence
of NRAMP1 has been partially conserved in these bison.
Conserving this trait is an important consideration for
long term brucellosis management.
By consuming products of birth and abortion, carnivores
remove the bulk of infectious materials from the site
exposing any remaining brucella abortus on soil and vegetation
to light and desiccation, to which they are vulnerable.
The National Academy of Science concludes that predation
and scavenging by carnivores biologically decontaminates
the environment of infectious B. abortus with efficiency
unachievable any other way.
They conducted a model run simulating bison test and slaughter
program. After brucellosis was eliminated from the model
population, reinfection of bison from elk led to an increase
of sero-prevalence to pretest and slaughter levels. Transmission
of brucellosis from elk to bison will prevent long-term
eradication.
DOL's bullying resistance to compromise has me asking
why they're so determined to have their way. Arrogance
like this is normally used to hide something.
Cattle cause mad cow disease. It gives rise to a new variant
of the always fatal brain wasting Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease
in humans.
Nearly all meat is contaminated with dioxins, a chemical
related to Agent Orange and DDT. Ninety-five percent of
human intake of DDT comes from dairy and meat products.
Multiple studies link consumption of animal products to
heart disease.
It takes the equivalent of a gallon of gas to produce
a pound of grain-fed beef. To sustain the yearly beef
requirements of an average family of four requires the
consumption of over 260 gallons of fossil fuel. When that
fuel is burned it releases 2.5 tons of additional carbon
dioxide into the atmosphere - as much as the average car
emits in six months.
An estimated 85 percent of U.S. agricultural land is used
in the production of animal foods, which in turn is linked
with deforestation, extinction of species, loss of soil
productivity through mineral depletion and erosion, water
pollution and depletion, overgrazing and desertification.
This is just the beginning! Cattle are more trouble than
they're worth.
As a former consumer of your product, I'm sorry for the
hardships ranching families are encountering. However,
I'm of the opinion that your very own industry has done
you a grave disservice by not taking elk into account
years ago. On your behalf the Montana Stockgowers Association,
and their attorney John Bloomquist, choose to ignore the
fact that deer, moose, pigs, beaver, wolves, coyotes and
bighorn sheep carry brucellosis. Why?
They instead push the fear of bison on you then logic
looks away. Fear is what works. They depend upon it.
Doesn't it seem more logical to control disease within
an already controlled environment? Millions of dollars
could've been spent on behalf of ranchers by investing
in research for cattle vaccines with efficacy rates close
to 100 percent. Why didn't they?
The cattle industry isn't the only economic builder in
Montana. Gov. Brian Schweitzer has a responsibility to
tourism, education and health care also. He has no other
choice but to take all our interests into account. Give
him some moving room, would you?
Karrie Taggart is a home and business owner who lives
on Horse Butte near West Yellowstone.
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