TB in Oregon Elk

As some of you are aware TB has be found in one of the Oregon Elk Ranches that raise these animals for money. I'm not very judgemental about how a man puts food on his families table but there is a limit. It seems that our state is worried it will spread to the wild herds as many of these animals escape their pens during the rut and are now running with wild elk. So a number of elk are to be shot by the game department to see if it is spreading. Are we alone in this state or has this ranching business spread to WA state? Is it worth risking our herds so that a few can profit? I don't mean to be an alarmist, I just think enough of the sportsmen need to be informed and be satisfied with whats going on. Whats your opinion?

This state doesn't allow "game farming" anymore. There were a few, and I'm not quite sure if they are still around, but no new farms are allowed to open. This is just for indigenous species like mule-whitetail-blacktail deer, elk and others.

There was a a farm near Brooklyn that raised Fallow deer a few years back, but I don't know if they are still there.

I'm not vehemently against the farms for raising elk for food, but I don't believe in canned hunts. If the risk of teh operation is too great for the animals that are wild, then I say no game farms. There are enough other species of livestock that you can raise.

As an FYI channel 47, the Fox News, at 7:40 PM PST just reported in the printed news line at the bottom of the screen a Federal agency has decided to kill several hundred elk and cattle to fight the outbreak in Oregon.

I have hunted very near that ranch for several years and even hunted it a few times before the owners fenced it off for raising elk. The problem is that the cow elk that had TB had been tested 14 times BEFORE she came up with TB. The elk were bought through a federal program that tested and guaranteed the "quality" of these elk. My girfriend just filled her cow tag about 5 miles from this ranch a couple of weeks ago and we gave the head and neck to ODFW to test for TB. Have not heard anything but cooking your meat to 150 will kill the culprit anyway.

The worse case of TB ever reported came from Michigan with a believe 8 or 9 animals were involved. ODFW wanted to kill something 500 deer and 200 elk within a 5 mile area of the Rudio Ranch (this is were the elk are) and my buddy runs 125,000 acres surrounding the ranch. He told them to pound sand, but he would cooperate with providing test samples from the animals his hunters take off the property. The problem with TB is there is no cure for it and eradication is the only solution--some of you old timers will remember the TB outbreaks of the 60's I am sure. Seems we still have animals out there..............hmmmm. Nature seems to have a way of taking care of her own.

For the record--canned hunts should not ever be allowed here in the state on native game animals at least! I think they outlawed them too though, there used to be a ranch out of Madras that had some exotics and I think they shut them down a couple of years ago.