More Opposition

<a href="http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2006/06/19/news/state/43-bison-livestockgroup.txt">Livestock groups turn up opposition to Schweitzer's bison plans</a><br />n<br />n<blockquote>Two of the state's largest livestock groups are turning up their opposition to <a href="http://governor.mt.gov/governor/govbio.asp">Gov. Brian Schweitzer</a>'s proposals regarding the management of bison that leave Yellowstone National Park each year.<br />n<br />nThe Montana Farm Bureau issued a new study that maintains the threat of the spread of the disease brucellosis to cattle is too great to allow bison any extra room to roam outside the park. And the Montana Stockgrowers Association separately issued a policy statement saying it opposes removing any cattle from areas outside the park to accommodate wandering bison.<br />n<br />nThe documents outline positions both groups have expressed previously. Members of those groups and others have concerns about allowing park bison to roam outside the park, for fear the animals could spread brucellosis to cattle and threaten the state's brucellosis-free status.</blockquote><br />n<br />nI am glad to see the Farm Bureau coming in on this issue like they are. I didn't expect it. The Stockgrowers doesn't surprise me, it's there job to protect Montana's livestock industry and that is what they are doing, protecting us from a proposal that could cost us a lot of money.<br />n<br />n<blockquote>Losing the state's brucellosis-free status would cost the ranching industry somewhere between $4 million and $16 million in extra expenses, mostly for labor and disease testing, the Montana Farm Bureau report concludes.<br />n<br />nIn addition, because brucellosis carries such a stigma among ranchers, the presence of the disease could reduce cattle prices by somewhere between $5 million and $26 million, the report says.</blockquote><br />n<br />nBe truthful, if you were facing a proposal that had the potential to cast you this kind of money, you would oppose it to. If the Federal government would just do something about their animals carrying the disease, this wouldn't be a problem. Until the Federal Government owns up to the problem, we ranchers are faced with dealing with the situation. The funny thing is, the reason ranchers so fear Brucellosis, is what the Federal Government will do to us if it's found in the state.<br />n<br />nSo, they will punish us if it's in the state, but won't do anything about animals under their control who have the disease and have the potential to pass it to animals in the state. It's a catch-22. They're bound and determined to give us the disease but yet will punish us for having the disease around. The only solution? Keep the animals out of the state until the Federal Government fixes the problem either by fixing the Brucellosis laws or cleaning up the Brucellosis problem in their herd.<br />n<br />nEverybody blames the ranchers for this problem. People need to look at the Federal government avoiding the issue as the problem. If the Feds would work on their end of the situation this would have a lot easier solution.<br />n<br />n<strong>You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today. Abraham Lincoln</strong>