- Source: El Diario de la Pampa July 9, 2002
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- Authorities State The Red-Muzzled Mouse Doesn't Exist
In La Pampa
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- Government Dismisseses SENASA Report On Cattle Mutilations
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- The provincial government dismissed yesterday the official
report presented by the National Health and Agroalimentary Quality Service
(SENASA) regarding the causes of death and mutilations of dozens of bovines,
since the "red-muzzled mouse", the alleged perpetrator of
dozens of bovine deaths and mutilations, is not found in La Pampa.
This was made clear by the Minister of Production, Nestor Alcala, who pointed
out that the rodents of this species "are unknown to me, nor do I
believe they form part of the Pampan fauna."
Veterinarians and agronomist engineers echoed this sentiment. Gustavo Siegenthaler,
director of the National Museum of History of La Pampa, noted that "this
species has not been found in the surveys we have conducted." From
1986 to 1992, Siegenthaler headed a multidisciplinary team which produced
a report entitled "Survey of Vertebrates in the Province of La
Pampa."
"We have placed between 70 and 120 traps each night and have never
found that species, and it does not appear in the bibliography either,"
he stated.
The book "Mammals of Argentina" by the Migule Lillo Institute,
indicates that the "red-muzzled mouse" lives from Mesopotamia
[Trans.Note: name given to the region of Argentina between the Paraná
and Uruguay Rivers] to northeastern Buenos Aires province. "It
cannot have spread to other areas, because it would have been detected,"
he explained. "And in the event that they were the authors of the
mutilations, it would be assumed that they would be more or less significant
populations, thus making them easy to find, which has not happened."
Veterinarian Maria Parturlane said that "the anapathological lesions
(on the mutilated cows) cannot be said to have been caused by a mouse."
Medical veterinarian Alberto Pariani, Academic Secretary and Professor
of the School of Veterinary Medicine at the National Univ. of La Pampa
at Pico, after reading the SENASA report, considered that "there
are always field mice, but for example, in the cases we found in the
field, there were no traces of rodent fecal matter."
Meanwhile it was learned yesterday that a mutilated cow was found in the
"San Juan" pasture field near Algarrobo del Agula, owned by Pablo
Bravo. Alcala said that "the report these people have put together
(meaning SENASA, based on research from Univ. del Centro in Buenos Aires)
may be what they saw, but I don't know that it agrees with what is happening
in La Pampa or other parts of the country."
The SENASA report states that the mutilated bovines died "due to natural
causes" and that subsequent lesions on the hide and organs were caused
by predators such as rodents and even foxes in some cases.
The health organization thus attempted to pour cold water on the subejct,
but few have believed in this version of the events. Furthermore, the Uruguayan
government ruled, on the same day that the report was issued, that mutilations
in that country were produced by the German Wasp (yellow jacket).
Translation (C) 2002 Scott Corrales, Institute of Hispanic Ufology (IHU).
Special thanks to Alicia Rossi.
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