- At least 30 of the 200-plus elk on the Motherwell Ranch
southeast of Craig would be killed and tested for chronic wasting disease
under a plan being worked out by state agriculture officials.
-
- "We have a preliminary agreement with the owner,
Wes Adams, on testing for CWD at his ranch, but there still are a number
of loose ends that need to be tied up before any animals are killed,"
Jim Miller, state Agriculture Department policy director, said Friday.
-
- One of those loose ends is running the agreement by the
state Division of Wildlife, a partner in CWD control.
- "We can't comment on the agreement yet because we
haven't seen the details of the plan," wildlife division spokesman
Todd Malmsbury said.
-
- Concern about the captive elk at the Motherwell Ranch
sprang from the death in January of a bull that had been in a fight with
another and tested positive for CWD.
-
- The Motherwell Ranch gained notoriety in 2002 when its
owners expanded the fenced-in area and two mule deer on the property were
killed and tested positive for CWD - the first on the Western Slope.
-
- It created enough concern that Gov. Bill Owens announced
the news immediately and said he would name a committee to work on ways
to keep the always fatal disease from spreading.
-
- CWD eats holes in the brains of deer and elk. Although
there is no proof that eating an infected animal causes human health problems,
the state advises hunters against it.
-
- Discovering CWD - known to exist in northeastern Colorado
since the 1960s - in northwestern Colorado had a huge impact because many
small communities rely on big game hunting for a sizable portion of their
income.
-
- As soon as the infected mule deer at the Motherwell Ranch
were discovered others were killed and more cases of CWD were found outside
the newly fenced area, but nothing inside.
-
- After the diseased elk was found in January, agriculture
and wildlife officials immediately called for the elimination of the entire
herd and quarantined the ranch, meaning no live elk could enter or leave.
- Adams, a Las Vegas construction contractor who couldn't
be reached Friday for comment, balked when agriculture officials offered
up to $2,850 for each of the 130 elk in his herd.
-
- Adams raises bull elk that people pay to shoot. Many
command $20,000 or more depending on their antler size.
-
- Adams told agriculture officials he wanted $600,000 for
his herd and $400,000 to reimburse him for a second fence - which serves
as a buffer between captive elk and wild animals - around his property.
-
- Agriculture officials said they didn't have the money,
so Adams kept his herd with the provision that any animals that left the
ranch would be dead and tested.
-
- Miller said conversations with Adams in the past months
led to an agreement to kill only a select number, 30 or so, both cows and
bulls, rather than the whole herd.
- The matter of how much money will be offered and whether
Adams accepts is still up in the air.
- If more animals test positive, Miller said, the state
probably will call for eliminating the entire herd.
- Tom Cox, president of the Colorado Elk Breeders Association,
said, "I'm pleased they are looking at other options than just killing
everything.
-
- "We believe Wes' animal picked up the disease from
infected wild animals outside his pens, but there's no way to prove it."
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- http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/state/article/0,
1299,DRMN_21_2906187,00.html
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