Big Win for Bison! plus a bit about Brucellosis, etc.

Big Win for Bison!
John Motsinger | Posted on 15 April 2011 | Tags: Yellowstone [Defenders of Wildlife]
More great news from Montana . Montana officials have finalized a deal that will open 75,000 acres in southern Montana for bison to roam outside of Yellowstone National Park. The partners of the Interagency Bison Management Plan hosted an open house in Gardiner, Mont., last night to discuss the latest changes to the plan. The agreement between eight state, federal and tribal agencies has been in the making for several weeks, while more than 600 bison are still being kept at a capture facility until spring.
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.....so I did a little research of my own on Brucellosis carried by some wild bison and the primary reason local ranchers are afraid to have Yellowstone bison on "their" Federal lands.

Brucellosis, also known as: Rock fever; Cyprus fever; Undulant fever; Gibraltar fever; Malta fever; Mediterranean fever

Brucellosis is an infectious disease caused by contact with animals carrying bacteria called Brucella.

Prevention
Drinking and eating only pasteurized milk and cheeses is the most important preventative measure. People who handle meat should wear protective glasses and clothing and protect skin breaks from infection. Detecting infected animals controls the infection at its source.

Vaccination is available for cattle, but not humans. [PubMed Health] www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov So I would assume that it wouldn't be too difficult to vaccinate all of Yellowstone's bison to alleviate those fears.

Also, such fussing is not new. It seems that in the 1870's, ranchers in Kansas passed laws against Texas beef being herded to the rail-heads in Kansas for shipment to Chicago's markets because of a tick borne disease known as Texas fever. Seems that Texas longhorns were immune to the disease yet carried the ticks, but Kansas cattle were not and thus suffered from contact with the Texas cattle. Actually, the ticks and fever were first noted in Pennsylvania and after the Civil War in other southern states.