040221 Montanna Orders Testing of Wyoming Cattle

Helena, MT – Montana livestock officials have imposed restrictions on Wyoming cattle entering the state, in response to brucellosis being found in two herds there.

An order signed by Dr. Tom Linfield, state veterinarian, requires testing for the disease before and after the animals arrive in Montana, except in certain instances.

The move comes just a few days after Idaho took similar action and after the U.S. Department of Agriculture rejected Wyoming’s latest appeal to retain its brucellosis-free status.

Linfield said Friday the testing will be mandated by federal law once Wyoming’s change in designation becomes official. “This just gives us a jump-start on what would be required,” he said.

Dr. Jim Logan, Wyoming’s state veterinarian, said the Montana order was anticipated and more states are likely to take similar action.

Wyoming producers expect they will have to perform brucellosis tests on 150,000 to 300,000 animals a year to comply, he said.

“Wyoming is gearing up to do the testing that is required,” he said. “We will be at a stage where there will be logistical problems and we have to figure out how to get this testing accomplished before the cattle move interstate.”

Logan said the Wyoming Legislature is considering measures to help ranchers pay the testing costs.

The brucellosis test itself isn’t costly, but the labor-intensive process of taking blood samples from every animal is expensive, he said.

Brucellosis, a disease that causes cows to abort their calves, is seen by the livestock industry as a threat because it jeopardizes ability to ship cattle to other states without the added expense of testing.

Steve Pincher, executive vice president of the Montana Stockgrowers’ Association, said the testing requirement is necessary for Montana to protect its brucellosis-free label that has been in place since 1985.

Neither he nor Linfield had an estimate on the number of Wyoming cattle shipped to Montana annually.

The order requires test-eligible cattle or ranch bison be tested within 30 days of being shipped to Montana and again within 45-120 days after the initial negative test.

It applies to beef cows at least 24 months old, dairy cows 20 months or older, all pregnant cows in their last trimester and those that have calved at least once.

For bison, the testing requirement applies to cows 12 months and older that were not vaccinated as calves, cows 24 months or older that were vaccinated as calves, pregnant cows in their last trimester and those that have calved.

All male bison 12 months or older also must be tested.

Animals shipped directly to a Montana auction market do not have to be tested until they arrive. Animals sent directly to a slaughterhouse, steers and spayed heifers, and those from certified brucellosis-free herds are exempt.

Linfield said the order will be in effect for at least a year, because that much time must pass without a case of the disease before a state again can be designated brucellosis-free.

The order also applies to cattle shipped to Montana from Missouri and Texas, two other states that lost their brucellosis-free status years ago. Linfield said the Livestock Department has long had a policy that requires testing of animals from those states, but the order ensures they are all treated the same.

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