State authorities have placed a Mesa County ranch under quarantine after discovering livestock had a serious and contagious disease that posed a threat to other livestock and wildlife.
Thursday’s quarantine follows the Nov. 17 seizure by state wildlife and agriculture officials of a livestock trailer containing 20 exotic sheep and 16 feral hogs. The driver of the trailer, which was headed to the Little Creek Ranch, did not possess required permits. It is illegal to transport that type of hog in the trailer, officials said.
Tests revealed that 14 of the hogs were carrying pseudo rabies, a contagious viral disease that poses threats to livestock, wildlife and pets.
Keith Roehr, the assistant state veterinarian, said authorities intervened before the infected animals could pose a threat to other animals.
“We were able to move them to a location where they didn’t have any exposure to wildlife or domestic swine,” Roehr said in an interview. “We are now able to identify and contain and prevent further exposure.”
He said authorities will conduct further testing on animals at the Little Creek Ranch. The quarantine bars movement in or out of that ranch, he said. He said the incident marked the first discovery of pseudo rabies in feral hogs in Colorado.
The quarantine order states that recent inspections of the ranch “found a number of regulatory deficiencies” and problems with fencing around the ranch, including numerous holes under the fencing.
The Little Creek Ranch, which has a wild-boar-hunting operation, is licensed by the state as a commercial wildlife park. The ranch existed before state regulations banning the importation or possession of wild boar and feral hogs, and it was “grandfathered in” to allow it to have a limited number of wild boar on the property. Still, the ranch must comply with strict animal-health and fencing requirements.
Officials at the Colorado Division of Wildlife and the Colorado Department of Agriculture quarantined the ranch.
Christopher N. Osher: 303-954-1747 or cosher@denverpost.com
