Pneumonia in Yellowstone Bighorns

[RobG]

http://www.kbzk.com/news/pneumonia-detected-in-gardiner-area-bighorn-sheep/

I'm sure it is just a coincidence that Hoppe started raising sheep on the park border. He better experience worldwide hell or the world isn't right.

 

[RobertR]

That's to bad!!
I'm sure western watersheds and crew will be chiming in on this one. They blamed Hoppe for enticing the wolves.

 

[BuzzH]

Say good bye to unlimited hunts...

 

[katqanna]

These are Hoppes domestic sheep in Gardiner by the river.

I took pictures by his place at Jardine Road of the domestics when they were moved from the river the first time after the wolf incident. They were open to bighorn exposure there as well, not in a fenced area that would have prevented any commingling. These deaths anger me.

 

[The Hedgehog]

Something tells me an AR15 and a spotlight could have solved this problem. But a burning bag of dogshit and a lead pipe would have made it more enjoyable.

 

[The Hedgehog]

The burning bag of shit and the lead pipe is still a possibility. Bummer for the bighorns.

 

[RobertR]

Katqanna This looks like the same scene when the big horns were at maiden rock.
If anyone remembers the sheep over by the Ruby River if they got out their range they got shot because of domestic sheep. We need to get livestock people off of the commission.

As I predicted The Wildlife News and company is all over this.
http://www.thewildlifenews.com/2014...stone-national-park-are-dying-from-pneumonia/

 

[brymoore]

Boo

 

[katqanna]

"It is not possible to detect the exact source of this pneumonia outbreak." - I dont believe this is true.

I remember reading about the 23 die offs in North Dakota by the end of Sept. this fall. One of the articles, and I just went back through a number of these to verify, said they didnt know if that little girls domestic herd were responsible because they had not been tested. NOT that you couldnt determine if the strain responsible had come from the domestics, just that they hadnt tested. Later there was another article saying they were going to test the domestic herd (it was volunteered), but I never saw any news on it after.

I also read an article about the Washington Bighorn die off from a particular nasty strain that was found to be traced back to a domestic goat.

I spoke with a bighorn sheep biologist this evening and he also believes this can be tested. I am checking on this tomorrow (business hours when normal people work) to verify about testing the strain, the genetics of the bacteria to determine source. I would seriously doubt Hoppe would volunteer his sheep, since he recklessly put them there on purpose because of his grudge with YNP and FWP.

I am working on a bighorn sheep and mountain goat project for Montana - had requested all the population survey data from 2008 to present from all the regions. I just reread the data from that Gardiner area of Region 3 and there was already a noticeable decline in this springs count from last year with coughing being documented in the herd.

 

[RobertR]

I don't how many different strains of pneumonia there are and how it's transmited and if it's like some other diseases that can stay in the ground for years until conditions are right and a host is available to contract the disease. The question I have, should domestion sheep be required to be monitored for pneumonia like symptoms and if they are present should they be quarantined until healthy.

 

[LopeHunter]

Running domestic sheep that close to wild sheep herds has predictable results. All in the name of the building more wealth. Another dollar in the pocket. If we want to create wealth so badly that we sign a death sentence on wild sheep herds then let's turn Yellowstone into a mega-resort with ski runs, water parks and micro-estates. Log the trees and bottle the water. Block the animal migration routes. Sell some sponsorship so is "Yellowstone, brought to you by State Farm" or some other crap. Have people in bighorn sheep costumes great guests at the main lodge. No need for actual bighorn sheep anymore. God help us all.

 

[RobG]

Running domestic sheep that close to wild sheep herds has predictable results. All in the name of the building more wealth. Another dollar in the pocket. If we want to create wealth so badly that we sign a death sentence on wild sheep herds then let's turn Yellowstone into a mega-resort with ski runs, water parks and micro-estates. Log the trees and bottle the water. Block the animal migration routes. Sell some sponsorship so is "Yellowstone, brought to you by State Farm" or some other crap. Have people in bighorn sheep costumes great guests at the main lodge. No need for actual bighorn sheep anymore. God help us all.

The sheep owner wasn't in this for the money. He has a grudge against the world because they won't keep the Yellowstone animals off his property so he brought in some sheep a few years back.

 

[Dinkshooter]

. These deaths anger me.

I was actually hoping they really pissed you off, better results then.

 

[katqanna]

Robert, pneumonia in domestic sheep and goats is more naturalized causing minimal infections within their populations, but lethal to our bighorns and mountain goats. That why the grazing bs that just got passed in the NDAA with the public land package is so dangerous, because of the trailings and such.

But in this case, Hoppe has never raised sheep before. He had some cattle. But he vocally spews his angst about YNP and FWP routinely (public meetings, legislative sessions, etc.). So when he brought in the wee sheep herd, supposedly for his grandaughter in 2013, a number of us were upset because those sheep would infect the bighorns and could possibly also infect the wild bison around there. Domestic sheep also are natural carriers for malignant catarrhal fever which is lethal to bison.

The ag industry has a double standard about wildlife possibly infecting their livestock, but there are no protections for our bighorns from the domestic. Nobody, no agency we spoke with, could do anything about Hoppe and those sheep. Now we are having bighorn die offs.

Dink, it does really piss me off, I am trying to calm down tonight or I wont get to sleep. I have been pissed about this since he first brought them in.
"Do you know what 'nemesis' means? A righteous infliction of retribution manifested by an appropriate agent. Personified in this case by an 'orrible c*nt...me." - Bricktop (Snatch) Thats the kind of pissed I am.

 

[MontanaWild]

I'm sure this could be solved with some Wild West tactics by some locals.

 

[katqanna]

When Hoppe first placed the 30 domestic sheep on that leased parcel by the Yellowstone, many of us were concerned and vocal, reached out to the agencies and media to say something and express concern about the disease threat to bighorns and bison. The media did nothing.

Then it was determined that two wolves got some of the sheep. Several sheep ranchers addressed the issue, that they never would have placed sheep there, it was not secure for the sheep, like asking for a predation. They also spoke to the fact that those sheep were on poor land and were concerned over their health. But Hoppe was written up like a victim in the media, which he loved and ran with, insisting on getting wolf kill permits from FWP even when APHIS said there was no need, that he was moving the remaining sheep to another location. I spoke with John Steuber (MT APHIS and he explained they they saw no need to go after the wolves, there had not been predation before and Hoppe was moving the remaining sheep to the home property, they dont just go after any wolf). So Hoppe went to FWP to demand a kill permit, which he received, though there had not been a predation before, the sheep had been moved, he had not met the requirements in the FWP kill permit prevention methods first. The dead animals were not moved for almost 2 weeks, which caused a controversy of Hoppe baiting wolves. So he shot himself a YNP collared research wolf, even though it may not have been one involved with the original predation, may have been lured by rotting carcasses, posing with pictures. This infuriated wolf advocates which got some media attention, still portraying Hoppe as a victim though, he was just a poor rancher that wolf lovers were threatening, according to him, so scared that he moved the remaining sheep up to their home location. All the while playing a victim, even saying he gave up the second kill on the permit.

The majority of the media didnt address Hoppes reckless behavior to the wildlife, his spite towards YNP or FWP. They didnt address that he lives right there by YNP, outfits hunting of the wildlife around there, blamed the agencies for an eminent domain action against his family's land years ago, always complained at meetings about how much money the Church Universal Triumphant got for land and he wants some. The media didnt write about his poor reputation in Gardiner, his long winded rants at public meetings, repeating the same thing regardless of what the public meeting is about. They didnt interview or quote any Gardiner residents that were or had been ranchers about the location, the residents that took pictures showing that the sheep had not been removed from the area or any disease specialists talking about the threat. Just Hoppe.

So if anyone, goes "Wild West", illegally taking matters into their hands destroying private property, which I do not advocate, I can guarantee you that the Bozeman Daily Chronicle and other ag news will gladly portray Hoppe as a ranching victim and martyr, undermining all the hard work that bighorn advocates legally do.

It was because of this Hoppe situation and the elk brucellosis that several other hunters and I discussed what we could do, so I had to create EMWH, to have an avenue to get the facts out there since we couldnt get the media coverage to address the reckless endangerment of our wildlife. We are fighting, within the law, to get scientific wildlife management for our wildlife.

 

[Deleted member 16014]

...That why the grazing bs that just got passed in the NDAA with the public land package is so dangerous, because of the trailings and such...

Somewhat true, though the risk assessment models coming out of USFS regions 1 and 4 will probably have more effect on the issue from what I've seen. Region 4's assessment is recently done, just waiting to see the results. I expect there will be more leverage there for domestic sheep restriction on public land than anything that could have happened in the NDAA. Conflict on BLM winter range is another matter that I've not heard a solution for, at least in WY.

 

[Oak]

Region 4's assessment is recently done, just waiting to see the results. I expect there will be more leverage there for domestic sheep restriction on public land than anything that could have happened in the NDAA.

Depends on whether the ranchers get a legislative "fix" to the R4 assessment, which I wouldn't bet against given this new Congress.

 

[Deleted member 16014]

Depends on whether the ranchers get a legislative "fix" to the R4 assessment, which I wouldn't bet against given this new Congress.

It's definitely possible. I have a feeling the conservative lobby won't fall on the grenade for the sheep industry if they can help it, though I could certainly be wrong. I think they would have much more pressure to do so for the cattle industry.

 

[Oak]

I think we are beginning to see a slight shift in the DS industry strategy, away from challenging the science and towards getting a guarantee of alternate AUMs. While we should strive for collaborative solutions, livestock grazing uses are likely over-allocated under current land management regulations that reflect law and policy of multiple interests, and a changing demographic across the west. It is not likely that effective bighorn sheep conservation can be achieved without some impacts to the DS industry.

While I don't share your optimism in how the conservative side of the aisle might react, I hope you are right. However, I would not be surprised to see a directive to ensure alternative allotments are available before any DS producers are displaced.