Getting private sheep and goat owners to believe in the science and/or care is often an issue. I know of people that were paid or under contract to disband hobby flocks in sheep habitat that bought more animals as soon as the contract ended
#huntingisconservation
I agree, and this would be amazing, but this is about like proposing to put herds of unicorns on the landscape, because essentially all domestic sheep herds carry Movi.
Strict testing and herd management practices. They do this all the time with NRCS programs. You don’t think it’s do-able? I do. It would take some money for sure.
Could you elaborate on Duckworth here? I was under the impression they were one of the "good guys" in the wool industry. However, I am far from knowledgeable on the topic of sheep herds.
Have you seen how difficult and intensive it is to eliminate movi from stock? They show this process in the full length Transmission film. You’re never going to force a domestic producer with 10,000 sheep to do this; certainly not with their current political power. What’s the other solution? Cull the infected ones? No producer is going to cull 95% of their flock.
Not force. Incentivize them. Dangle a cherry for them. I agree. The large flocks are probably better dealt with by allotment buyouts. It’s the small little operators to me that cause the biggest problems. Easiest barrier to entry in areas with great big horn population potential.
There is plenty on the web about the Helle sheep operation and bighorn transplant in the Gravely range. The legacy of 3 generations of sheep ranching family is more important than wild sheep in an entire range and the enjoyment of hundreds of generations of wildlife enthusiasts. The sheep can not expand from a very small area, if they do they are shot. There is a ton of sheep habitat that can never be utilized because of one families sheep allotments. One family should not have this much control... Somewhere in have a picture of W$F's web page with a Duckworth wool vest for sale. It's no longer for sale BTW.
Testing seems way more palatable and plausible to me than listing. But I guess I’m a simpleton compared to all you brain trusts that lurk on hunttalk
Duckworth is the storefront of the wool produced by the Helle family
Here I thought we were talking about jet boats.
What's your plan for testing? Because unless you get everyone to comply, and quarantine and/or kill it's a waste of time. Cattle ranchers have done well with brucellosis, but only because it effects their cattle (and it can effect humans). Movi doesn't effect domestic sheep in a substantial way. There is no vaccine (unlike brucellosis), so the only incentive is to test to protect wild sheep.
I would redirect the “billions and billions” (joke-I would need to actually look at the money it would take to pull this off) wasted on existing farm programs utilized by large corporations and rich farmers and set up a testing and compliance program so lucrative, they would want to comply. Ol dolly the ewe tests positive. She becomes chops and the owner is compensated appropriately . Something along those lines. Really incentivize a closed movi free herd. Challenging? Yup. But until movi is removed from bighorn sheep habitat, I think bighorn recovery piddles along and reverses. If using the ESA becomes the only option, then I say status quo is better than that.
