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Ranch owner balks plan to fence ranch; control wasting disease
5/23/02
CRAIG, Colo. (AP) - A ranch owner is balking at the state's request that he build a $100,000 electric fence on his property to help control the spread of chronic wasting disease in northwestern Colorado.
The seven-mile fence would wrap around the perimeter of the Motherwell Ranch, a trophy-elk hunting facility in southwestern Routt County owned by Wes Adams of Las Vegas. It will separate migrating herds of elk and deer from the ranch's elk.
While no elk killed inside the facility have tested positive for chronic wasting disease, four wild deer inadvertently trapped on the ranch in January tested positive for the fatal disease.
In addition, six deer killed outside the ranch by state wildlife agents last month also tested positive for wasting disease, a neurological disease that affects elk and deer.
The recent discovery of chronic wasting disease near Craig was the first time the ailment was confirmed west of the Continental Divide. It has been found in the wild in northeastern Colorado and southeastern Wyoming for several years.
The new cases have reignited a debate about whether wild deer and elk or captive elk herds are spreading the disease.
Colorado Department of Wildlife officials said Adams refuses to take responsibility for protecting the wild elk herds from his domestic animals. The agency has offered to buy fencing materials if Adams builds and maintains the fence.
Wild elk and deer are beginning their annual migration to summer range, wildlife officials said, and the ranch is located along a major migration route.
State wildlife and agriculture officials want the 103 elk still inside the ranch's hunting pen killed and tested for wasting disease. So far, Adams has refused.
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On the Net:
Division of Wildlife: http://wildlife.state.co.us
Colorado Department of Agriculture chronic wasting disease program: http://www.ag.state.co.us/animals/livestoc...isease/cwd.html
5/23/02
CRAIG, Colo. (AP) - A ranch owner is balking at the state's request that he build a $100,000 electric fence on his property to help control the spread of chronic wasting disease in northwestern Colorado.
The seven-mile fence would wrap around the perimeter of the Motherwell Ranch, a trophy-elk hunting facility in southwestern Routt County owned by Wes Adams of Las Vegas. It will separate migrating herds of elk and deer from the ranch's elk.
While no elk killed inside the facility have tested positive for chronic wasting disease, four wild deer inadvertently trapped on the ranch in January tested positive for the fatal disease.
In addition, six deer killed outside the ranch by state wildlife agents last month also tested positive for wasting disease, a neurological disease that affects elk and deer.
The recent discovery of chronic wasting disease near Craig was the first time the ailment was confirmed west of the Continental Divide. It has been found in the wild in northeastern Colorado and southeastern Wyoming for several years.
The new cases have reignited a debate about whether wild deer and elk or captive elk herds are spreading the disease.
Colorado Department of Wildlife officials said Adams refuses to take responsibility for protecting the wild elk herds from his domestic animals. The agency has offered to buy fencing materials if Adams builds and maintains the fence.
Wild elk and deer are beginning their annual migration to summer range, wildlife officials said, and the ranch is located along a major migration route.
State wildlife and agriculture officials want the 103 elk still inside the ranch's hunting pen killed and tested for wasting disease. So far, Adams has refused.
---
On the Net:
Division of Wildlife: http://wildlife.state.co.us
Colorado Department of Agriculture chronic wasting disease program: http://www.ag.state.co.us/animals/livestoc...isease/cwd.html
