GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.—State officials have quarantined a western Colorado ranch after 14 animals tested positive for pseudorabies, a contagious disease that can threaten livestock, wildlife and pets.
Division of Wildlife spokesman Randy Hampton says the Little Creek Ranch in Collbran was quarantined on Wednesday. He says 20 exotic sheep and 16 feral hogs were seized as they were about to arrive at the ranch on Nov. 17.
Hampton says 14 hogs tested positive for the disease. The seized animals are in state custody.
Alan Baier, listed in state records as the registered agent for the ranch, didn’t immediately return a call Friday.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture says pseudorabies can cause abortions, stillbirths, respiratory problems and occasional deaths in animals, especially pigs. USDA says the virus has never been shown to be contagious to humans.
