cattle and deer deaths

[duckdawg]

I recently heard that a farmer in Estill county is finding dead cattle and deer in his fields. From what I heard the cattle were fine one day and dead the next. Said they had blood coming from the mouth. They did take one cow to the UK lab for diagnostics but I have not heard any more about it. Has anyone else heard anything about this and what is going on?

[Strutter]

Was told by someone in Estill Co. that they died from blackleg.
Was supposed to be around the crooked creek area. Not sure how this disease works but supposedly that was the cause.

Strutter

[Highbow]

I find it STRANGE that F&W has NO REPLY to this question??????

[Trapper Phil]

<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote><font size=1 face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>
I find it STRANGE that F&W has NO REPLY to this question??????


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I was thinking the very same thing

[mountin man]

I was hoping to see a reply by now from F&W.The original post was made on the 18th, I think.5 days have passed with nothing back on this. HUH!!!!!!

[Valley Station]

Several of Ky F&W personnel(J.D.,D.Yancy) are at a convention in Alabama.Scheduled home Monday.

[CSS archer]

If this was the only place F&W heard of this from what would need to be said? If they sent a cow to the diagnostic lab the results should be there. Dead with blood from the mouth .....could be a bullet wound? Without seeing it there really isn't anything to say.

[Highbow]

CSS, this is close to your area, I thought maybe you had checked this out for yourself????

[DC]

1st I've heard of this until this evening. The most sure fire way to get a timely answer to a question is to contact the agency during business hours, 1-800-868-1549. This is considered a "recreational" site by most of us FW folks who tune in. Hitting this daily isn't a sure thing.

[DC]

I look into it. However, I am quite confident that elk, deer or other wildlife are not to blame. The elk are checked for a battery of diseases (6 tests) and approved by vets on both ends of the project (source state and Kentucky)--the elk are clean. There are 1.2 million cows in the Bluegrass--most are only checked for two diseases when they enter the state--some may not be checked at all--.

By the way, good ole Kansas now has Chronic Wasting Disease thanks to another deer/elk rancher in South Central Kansas. Let's see, these elk farmers have now introduced this disease to a half dozen states, one Canadian Province and South Korea---who's next?

[mossyhorns]

DC, what has happened with the proposal to move oversight of "game farms" away from KDFWR to the Dept. of Ag?

[DC]

Indeed, the "eastern subspecies" of elk are extinct. The subspecies KDFWR is using to restore elk to the Commonwealth is the Rocky Mountain. However, scientists aren't at all certain that there is genetic difference between the eastern and the Rocky Mountain. The differences are surely to have been very minor and probably difficult to detect even by looking. In fact, after just a little while in Kentucky these Rocky Mountain elk may take on a larger body (good food and mild weather) and their racks might grow larger, etc. Maybe their coloration will become slightly different than in the west, etc.
These elk are not exotic animals, they are of the same species native to Kentucky. No different than a more northern whitetail deer that might find its way this far south (button bucks have been documented to have moved more than 100 miles when "kicked out" by the doe.

[DC]

I forgot the elk ranching question. You would not believe the tremendous amount of time KDFWR has spent on this issue the past 6 months! We are fighting very diligently to make sure the future of Kentucky's deer herd and new elk herd are not endangered by the movement animals between private operations.

By the way, Kansas just turned positive for CWD--guess where it showed up?