The Montana Board of Livestock met earlier this week and, coming out of that meeting, there is fresh news regarding Montana’s Designated Surveillance Area, or DSA. The DSA is a disease surveillance area in southwestern Montana where brucellosis-positive elk are known or suspected to exist. According to the Montana Department of Livestock, co-mingling of elk and livestock and livestock exposure to tissue containing Brucella is possible in this area.
During the meeting this week, the Board decided that they are going to propose a rule to expand the Designated Surveillance Area from Dillon south on I-15 to the Idaho border. While geographically it would not add an extreme expanse of land to the DSA, it’s pretty substantial as far as the number of cattle affected. Some reports are that the new cattle population under the expanded DSA would be nearly double that of the current surveillance area.
So why are the looking at expanding the DSA?
Dr. Zaluski, Montana’s State Veterinarian, says it’s because of brucellosis test results for elk and keeping Montana proactive in the eyes of our state partners.Once the proposed rule is written, it will go out for public comment. For more information about the Designated Surveillance Area, visit the Montana Department of Livestock’s website.
© Northern Ag Network 2012
Haylie Shipp
