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1. First Midwest farm hit by bird flu restarts
By Associated Press
WDAZ.com
June 9, 2015
The first Midwest poultry farm struck by a deadly form of bird flu is growing turkeys again, even though the virus is still lurking in Minnesota and beyond.
Dr. Dale Lauer of the Minnesota Board of Animal Health says the Pope County farm was restocked with new birds Sunday.
He tells The Associated Press it's the first affected farm in the country's top turkey-producing state to reach that milestone. He also says a few other farms among the earliest victims will be restocked by next week.
Full text:
http://www.wdaz.com/news/north-dakota/3762736-first-midwest-farm-hit-bird-flu-restarts
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2. Three avian influenza control zone quarantines released in Jefferson County [WI]
By Trisha Bee
Fox6Now.com
June 9, 2015
MADISON - The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) announced Tuesday, June 9th that, after extensive surveillance and testing for avian influenza, the quarantines on poultry premises in control zones within 6.2 miles (10 km) of three farms in Jefferson County are now released. There have been no new detections of HPAI in Wisconsin since May 4.
Since the first detection in Jefferson County on April 13, DATCP successfully implemented a coordinated response with the facility owners, USDA, and other state agencies to contain and eliminate the disease at those sites. The affected farms were immediately quarantined and the 1.1 million birds in the flocks were depopulated.
While the control zone quarantines have been lifted, the infected farms themselves remain quarantined until further notice. They must undergo a cleaning and disinfection process before being released from quarantine and authorized to repopulate their flocks.
Full text: http://tinyurl.com/ndyjray
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3. U.S. approves eggs from Netherlands to ease shortage
By Krissa Welshans
Feedstuffs
June 9, 2015
Though emerging cases of avian influenza have slowed in recent days, the disease's impact has continued to take a toll on the U.S. egg supply, particularly the breaker market which supplies eggs to be broken for use in processed foods like cake and pancake mixes. To help alleviate the shortage, U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) announced June 1 that The Netherlands had been reinstated to export pasteurized egg products to the U.S.
FSIS said The Netherlands was first deemed safe to export pasteurized egg products to the U.S. in 1987, but stopped exporting for several years. Last year, however, The Netherlands requested reinstatement in order to export pasteurized egg products to the U.S.
To ensure that the government inspection system was still capable of meeting U.S. standards, FSIS performed a rigorous process of verification of the laws, regulations, and inspection procedures maintained by The Netherlands, and conducted an on-site audit June 2-26, 2014. Upon completion, FSIS determined that the country's food safety system was still equivalent to the U.S.
Egg processors in The Netherlands were expected to begin exporting as soon as export certificate language details were finalized.
Full text:
http://feedstuffs.com/story-approves-eggs-netherlands-ease-shortage-45-128598
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4. Swine Production Without Antibiotics
By Jamie Johansen
AgWired.com
June 9, 2015
Swine industry issues were all the rage during the recent 2015 World Pork Expo and the hottest of those issues was antibiotics. As host of the event, the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC), had their staff on hand to help inform producers and consumers. I spoke with Dr. Liz Wagstrom, Chief Veterinarian, NPPC, and she said the topic of antibiotics was a really fast moving issue.
"Over the last four or five years, the FDA has been working on strategies to remove all growth promotion uses in production uses of antibiotics that are in classes used in human medicine. Along with that the therapeutic uses, which are to control, prevent and treat diseases need to be under veterinary oversight."
This change in federal guidelines will require many regulation modifications and a lot of label changes. Dr. Wagstrom continued by adding. "By the end of next year I hope that a lot of those changes are underway and producers will no longer be able to use antibiotics that are important to human health to help promote growth in animals."
Dr. Wagstrom and NPPC encourage producers to sit down with their vets and go through your current uses of antimicrobials, re-evaluate them and create a better understanding of what you will need to change. She also reminded us that the National Pork Board is changing the Pork Quality Assurance (PQA) Plus guidelines so it will also reflect these changes.
Listen to my complete interview with Dr. Wagstrom:
http://animal.agwired.com/2015/06/09/swine-production-without-antibiotics/
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5. Building the herd: Bison delivers healthy bull calf at Colorado State University
CSU News & Information
June 9, 2015
FORT COLLINS - It's a boy! In a pasture on Colorado State University's Foothills Campus, at 11:35 a.m. Friday, bison cow No. 50 delivered a 45-pound male calf after a hard two-hour labor.
And it's no ordinary bison baby, if that were possible in 2015.
This sturdy, tawny-colored calf is destined for a home on the range: He is the first calf born this spring and bound for the Laramie Foothills Bison Conservation Herd, which soon will roam open space owned by the city of Fort Collins and Larimer County.
The creatures set to live on historic grazing grounds in northern Colorado are purebred Yellowstone bison - without lingering cattle genes that are typical in most bison herds as a result of interbreeding between the two species.
Yet unlike bison living in and near Yellowstone National Park, the Laramie Foothills herd is entirely free from an infectious disease called brucellosis that spreads easily among cattle, bison and elk and can cause devastating "abortion storms" in herds. The presence of brucellosis, and the fear of its spread, has largely prevented the propagation of purebred Yellowstone bison.
Full text:
http://www.news.colostate.edu/Release/7679
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6. No evidence of chronic wasting disease in New Hampshire deer
The Associated Press
Sacramento Bee
June 8, 2015
CONCORD, N.H. -- The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department says the state's white-tailed deer population once again has shown no evidence of chronic wasting disease, based on data gathered during the 2014 hunting season.
Biologist Dan Bergeron says a total of 423 tissue samples tested negative for the disease. The results came from a veterinary diagnostic laboratory.
Chronic wasting disease is a neurological disorder that is fatal to white-tailed deer, mule deer, elk and moose.
The department says 5,199 deer have been tested in New Hampshire since testing began in 2002.
Full text:
http://www.sacbee.com/entertainment/living/health-fitness/article23495137.html
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7. Missouri Resident Charged with Federal Lacey Act Violations
Missouri Times
June 10, 2015
The Department of Justice, United States Attorney's Office of the Eastern District of Missouri, issued the following information for immediate release effective June 10, 2015.
St. Louis, MO - Charles "Sam" James, 54, of Columbia, Missouri was charged in a one-count federal indictment for violations of the Lacey Act for engaging in conduct that involved the sale of white-tailed deer transported in violation of Missouri and Florida law.
According to the indictment, in October 2013, Charles "Sam" James, Co-owner of Timber Hollow Whitetails, transported 11 live white-tailed deer in interstate commerce in violation of state and federal laws from Missouri to a white-tailed deer farm in Florida. The transportation of these animals took place after a Florida state law took effect banning the importation of captive white-tailed deer. The defendant allegedly transported the deer from Timber Hollow Whitetails near Mexico, Missouri in a rented utility box trailer to a deer farm near Laurel Hills, Florida.
Federal law makes it unlawful to transport live white-tailed deer out of the State of Missouri or into the State of Florida without proper documentation of the animals and without required animal health records. These health records include certifying that captive-bred animals are free from diseases like chronic wasting disease, tuberculosis and brucellosis.
Chronic wasting disease is the chief threat to wild deer and elk populations in North America. The disease, which ultimately ends in the death of infected animals, is a transmissible neurological disease that produces small lesions in the brain of deer and elk and is characterized by loss of body condition and behavioral abnormalities.
If convicted, this charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both. In determining the actual sentences, a judge is required to consider the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide recommended sentencing ranges.
This case was investigated by agents from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Missouri Department of Conservation, and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Assistant United States Attorney Dianna Collins is handling the case for the U.S. Attorney's Office.
As is always the case, charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Source:
http://themissouritimes.com/18731/release-missouri-resident-charged-with-federal-lacey-act-violations/
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