BILLINGS, Mont.—States worried about brucellosis are imposing strict rules on the import of Montana cattle, especially those from counties surrounding Yellowstone National Park.
Nebraska state veterinarian Dennis Hughes said cattle coming to Nebraska from Montana’s Madison, Gallatin, Park, Sweet Grass, Stillwater and Carbon counties will have to be certified brucellosis-free. All animals older than 18 months will have to test negative for the disease, even if they’re not going to market.
There are less stringent rules for counties farther away from the park. Those cattle require a certificate of veterinarian inspection or a registered brand.
State veterinarians from Montana, Idaho and Wyoming have said cattle will continue to be plagued by brucellosis as long as it remains prevalent in wildlife in and around Yellowstone. Brucellosis can cause pregnant cows to abort their calves.
“We all realize, in states viewing this from afar, that Yellowstone is a huge problem,” Hughes said. “I’m hoping that Montana can work its way out of this thing.”
Idaho, Washington, Colorado, North Dakota and South Dakota also drafted rules for importing Montana cattle, but they are less stringent than Nebraska’s.
Cattle insiders said that what Nebraska essentially did was split the state into two classifications—separating cattle near Yellowstone from those farther away from the park.
Gov. Brian Schweitzer has been urging the state Board of Livestock to endorse a split-state initiative, but Schweitzer’s proposal called for a singling out a smaller area than the one excluded by Nebraska.
“The difference is that we know the ground, the geography. So we can use a scalpel to create a split state,” Schweitzer said. “Those state vets, in lieu of any other information, what would you expect them to do?”
Schweitzer proposes drawing distinct boundaries around the Yellowstone, Gallatin and Madison river valleys, areas where bison and elk naturally travel through when leaving Yellowstone. Though the area would include parts of Park, Gallatin and Madison counties, parts of those counties probably wouldn’t be included.
Rancher Tom Milesnick of Belgrade said he’s not convinced that split-state status will work. He’s concerned that federal officials will feel less pressured to manage brucellosis-infected wildlife if Montana ranchland bordering the park is cut from the rest of the state.
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Information from: Billings Gazette,
