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Wyoming Rancher Will Depopulate Brucellosis Infected Herd

The USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has granted an extension to the owner of a brucellosis infected herd of cattle near Daniel, Wyo. to depopulate the herd. Wyoming State Veterinarian Walter Cook says the rancher has until Oct. 5, 2008 to slaughter all sexually intact animals in the herd. Cook says the rancher felt this would be the best choice; otherwise he would have had to quarantine the herd for a year and get three negative tests over the course of the year.

"He realized that to "test-out" would require his herd to remain under quarantine for at least 12 months and it would have been very difficult to operate under those conditions in the spring and summer," Cook says. "He also realized it would cause problems with the herds that had fence-line contact with his herd."

As a result the State of Wyoming will keep its Brucellosis-Free status, however if another herd is found with brucellosis in the next two years, Wyoming will likely lose that status.