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CLEAR Temp: 63 °F Wind: CLM at 0 mph Friday, August 2, 2002 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Cyberchef E The People Golf Job Network Headbone Zone Wellness Connection Movie Times Newspaper in Education Oregon CarZone Outdoor Journal Personals Prime Times Real Estate Tempo A & E TV Times W3 Magazine CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Destinations Automotive Communities Employment Entertainment Publications Real Estate Recreation Shopping Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Jobs @ Mail Tribune Email Story to a Friend July 13, 2002 State wildlife board will consider elk ban By MARK FREEMAN Mail Tribune Oregon could close its borders to the importing of domesticated elk as early as next month over concern the domestic animals could carry new diseases to the state’s wildlife. At the urging of a coalition of hunting and animal-welfare groups, the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission voted Friday to consider an emergency ban on captive elk importation when it meets Aug. 9 in Corvallis. The commission also ordered the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife to draft a rule that would create a permanent ban on deer and elk importation. The agency would take public comment before the commission voted on it, ODFW spokeswoman Anne Pressentin Young said. The temporary rule could go into effect for as long as 180 days, she said. A permanent rule could be adopted no earlier than September. Oregon would become the 18th state or Canadian province to ban domestic elk importation amid discoveries of two deadly diseases — tuberculosis and chronic wasting disease — in some domestic herds. In an effort to address wasting disease outbreaks, governmental agencies in six states have killed more than 3,800 captive elk, costing taxpayers nearly $15 million. In Wisconsin and Colorado, wasting disease has been detected in wild elk. "The commission is acutely aware of what’s going on in other states, and they’re taking a pro-active stance here," said Al Elkins, an Oregon Hunters Association lobbyist who argued for the ban Friday. "We don’t want what’s happening in other states to happen here." A captive elk at a northeastern Oregon ranch was diagnosed with tuberculosis in December, forcing federal agricultural officials to kill off all the captive elk and cattle there to ensure the disease would not spread to wild elk. In late May, the owner of the elk ranch imported more than a dozen new animals from Colorado. Seekers of the ban say the fact that the Oregon elk was tested as tuberculosis-free before its importation here shows the testing procedures are unreliable. Two elk ranches are in Jackson County — one off Tolo Road and the other off Sterling Creek Road in the Applegate Valley. ODFW officials have said that both ranches possess less risk for transmitting disease to wild animals than the northeastern Oregon ranch because the domestic animals here are isolated from any wild elk. The collection of groups seeking the ban, calling themselves the MADelk Coalition, includes the OHA and several other hunting groups as well as the Fund for Animals, the Oregon Chapter of the Humane Society of the United States and other animal-welfare groups. The coalition petitioned the commission for Friday’s actions. "We’re usually not all together on any issue," Elkins said. "On this one, though, we’re all on the same side, and I think that impressed the commission." Public comment will be collected at the Aug. 9 meeting before any decision on the temporary ban is made, Pressentin Young said. Also Friday, the commission delayed hearing reports of new draft plans for managing the state’s black-tailed deer, mule deer and elk. The drafts, which call for improving habitat conditions but no radical changes to sport-hunting seasons, will instead be considered at the commission’s Aug. 9 meeting. Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470, or e-mail [email protected] Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright 1997-2002 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy web master feedback A D V E R T I S E R S