http://www.newsminer.com/featu...7a-0fdf37f228a9.html



Bacteria found in wild Alaska sheep, goats for first time causes concern

By Sam Friedman, sfriedman@newsminer.com Mar 14, 2018 Updated 9 hrs ago (1)



FAIRBANKS—A bacteria long feared by sheep hunters and wildlife managers has been found for the first time among wild sheep in Alaska.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced Tuesday that Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae — often known as M. ovi — have been found in sheep killed last year by hunters in the Talkeetna Mountains area. The bacteria was also found in wild goats in the Kenai Peninsula.

The bacteria is not native to Alaska. In the Lower 48, it is blamed for contributing to big horn sheep population die-offs. The bacteria impair hairline cilia structures in the lungs of sheep and goats, making it harder for the animals to clear other pathogens from the lungs with each breath.


Researchers found the bacteria in four Dall sheep among a sample of 136 taken in Game Management Unit 13A, which runs north of the Glenn Highway between Chickaloon and Glennallen. The infected animals appeared healthy, according to a news release from the Department of Fish and Game. Two infected goats were captured live in the Kenai Peninsula and were part of a sample of 39 mountain goats captured for testing in both Southeast Alaska and the Kenai Peninsula.

The state had been surveying sheep and goats to try to detect the bacteria for the last 10 years without previously confirming its presence in wild populations. In recent years, the state boosted the number of animals for testing and began testing animals taken by hunters.

Animals can carry the bacteria without showing signs of illness, and there haven't been any signs of Dall sheep or mountain goat die-offs associated with the bacteria, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game news release.

Domestic livestock concerns

Both the national Wild Sheep Foundation and its Alaska chapter responded to the news by calling for the state to require testing of domestic sheep and goats.

Alaska biologists haven't confirmed a link between farm animals and the presence of the bacteria in wild animals. The state is working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to research the strains of M. ovi found in the wild animals to see if they're similar to those found in domestic animals.

Sheep-hunting advocates have long feared domestic animals would spread the disease to Alaska's wildlife. Previous testing by Alaska's Department of Environmental Conservation found the bacteria in about 4 percent of Alaska's 1,500 domestic sheep and goats.

“We will no longer accept a ‘wait-and-see’ approach; this wildfire has been ignited, and it could sweep across thinhorn sheep range in the North," Wild Sheep Foundation CEO Gray Thornton said in a written statement Tuesday. "More than a quarter of all wild sheep in North America call Alaska home, and now they are at risk."

Thinhorn sheep include both the Dall sheep found in Alaska and the Stone sheep found in Canada's Yukon and British Columbia.

The Alaska Wild Sheep Foundation pledged $600,000 toward "testing and mitigation" of Alaska farm animals.

In January, Alaska Gov. Bill Walker transmitted a bill to the Legislature that would make some agricultural records confidential, including the voluntary disease testing of farm animals. The bill, HB 315, was referred to the House Judiciary and House Resources committees. It passed through Judiciary last month and has a hearing in the Resources Committee on Friday.

In 2016, the Alaska Wild Sheep Foundation asked the state Board of Game to remove sheep from the state "clean list" of animals that can be owned without a permit. The proposal drew strong opposition from sheep and goat owners. The game board voted not to take action on the proposal after concluding that as a hunting board it didn't have authority to issue licenses for domestic animals.

Contact Outdoors Editor Sam Friedman at 459-7545. Follow him on Twitter: @FDNMoutdoors

Is the Domestic Sheep lobby that strong that our State is willing to allow it's wild Sheep and Goat populations to die. Ludicrous, considering the WSF is willing to pay for the testing and reimburse for the mitigation.

I'm working on finding out more and figuring out what the strategy is. I'll update as I know more.

Almost certain this was due to transmission from domestic stock though.

Brett

Another good reason to make salmon 90% of your diet.