Livestock

14 September 2007 -- British authorities have confirmed the discovery of a case of foot and mouth disease at a second farm west of London just days after the latest outbreak was announced.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), in a statement Friday, said cattle on a farm adjacent to the previous infection site have tested positive for the disease.

Authorities had gathered the animals for slaughter, suspecting they could also be infected.    » read more »

Health officials encourage taking precautions

September 12, 2007 -- LANSING - The Michigan Departments of Community Health (MDCH) and Agriculture (MDA) today received confirmation from the Michigan State University (MSU) Diagnostic Center for Population and Animal Health (DCPAH) that a yearling Quarter Horse from Cass County tested positive for the Mosquito-borne disease, Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE). The young stallion was demonstrating neurological signs associated with EEE and was humanely euthanized. This is the second case of EEE in a Michigan horse this year.    » read more »

August 29, 2007 -- (Ayr, NE) Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman and Agriculture Director Greg Ibach announced the official designation of Adams County as a Livestock Friendly County in Nebraska. The declaration is determined under a state program coordinated by the Nebraska Department of Agriculture (NDA).

Adams County joins Webster County, Morrill, Hitchcock, Keith Dawes and Wayne Counties in being certified as Livestock Friendly. The announcement was made at the Paul and Patty Berger Feedlot, located south of Hastings.    » read more »

Cases of human brain-wasting disease often confused and misreported as BSE, more commonly referred to as Mad Cow Disease

August 21, 2007 -- SPRINGFIELD – Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) officials report today there are no confirmed or suspected cases of a type of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) in Illinois, commonly referred to as human mad cow disease. CJD is a rare, fatal brain disorder that causes mental deterioration and a variety of neurological symptoms, which usually leads to death within a year of onset.    » read more »

August 15, 2007 -- (Lincoln, NE) Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman and Agriculture Director Greg Ibach announced the official designation of Wayne County as the sixth Livestock Friendly County in Nebraska under a state program coordinated by the Nebraska Department of Agriculture (NDA).

Wayne County joins Morrill, Hitchcock, Webster, Keith, and Dawes Counties, which have been certified as Livestock Friendly.    » read more »

New Bush appointee says public lands no longer protected by landmark law

WASHINGTON, DC (August 14, 2007) – A decision just released by the new director of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) means that countless potentially harmful projects involving oil and gas exploration, logging and grazing on public lands are no longer subject to a key federal law that protects our nation’s natural resources, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).    » read more »

08 August 2007 -- For the first time since the confirmation of foot-and-mouth disease in Britain earlier this month, the government has decided to ease restrictions on livestock shipments in areas outside of the affected zone in southern England.    » read more »