Ithaca 37
New member
Idaho elk ranchers had the opportunity to regulate and police their own industry (isn't that what every industry says they can do when faced with regulatory legislation) and they failed miserably. Now we don't even know where the red stag cow's offspring are. They could be on an elk ranch in your state and could escape into the wild someday. They could very well be mixed into the Idaho/WY/MT Yellowstone herd by now. There's no way to keep some outlaw elk rancher from secretly breeding some red stag into his elk herd in hopes off growing some palmated antlers. And as we all know, it's impossible to guarantee some won't escape into the wild.
"An elk owned by eastern Idaho elk rancher Rex Rammell has tested positive a second time for red deer genes, prompting the Idaho Department of Agriculture to order it killed, neutered or shipped out of the state.
In September, Gov. Jim Risch ordered the Idaho Department of Fish and Game to kill 160 elk that escaped from Rammell's Chief Joseph Hunting Preserve, sparking a dispute between Rammell, the state and some of his neighbors. It also began a campaign to regulate or ban big-game ranches just as Montana and Wyoming do.
"It's what we feared but hoped wouldn't happen," Risch said Thursday. "This underscores the need for close controls on our domestic elk population."
In 1997, a Colorado laboratory certified the animal as being free of red deer genes. The more recent tests by a Canadian lab found otherwise.
Rammell questioned the validity of the latest test on Thursday.
"I think it's a false positive," he said.
The cow has been in his herd 10 years, Rammell said, and had many offspring. "Why have none of the progeny tested positive?" he said.
State officials said Rammell didn't keep records tying cows to individual calves. So ag officials can't determine whether red deer-influenced offspring remained in Rammell's herd, were killed or shipped to other ranches.
Hunters killed 36 of the elk after Fish and Game opened a special hunt. Elk that had not escaped were quarantined, including the cow elk that has suspect genes.
Rammell's elk have also been tested for brucellosis and tuberculosis. The tests were negative.
The dead elk have been tested for chronic wasting disease, with about 24 results pending. None have tested positive so far.
Rammell said he would comply with the state's order if it reimbursed him $1,000 for the value of the animal.
"As much as I've been bled this fall, you would think the state could find a thousand dollars," Rammell said. "If they're not going to pay me for it, I don't feel it's proper to remove her on a questionable test."
On Monday, Rammell was arrested for missing a court date and released on $5,000 bond. He was scheduled to appear in Fremont County Court on Nov. 22 on a misdemeanor charge that accused him of resisting or obstructing officers. That stemmed from a September incident where he confronted two state sharpshooters who killed two of his escaped elk."
http://www.idahostatesman.com/239/story/63006.html
If you want more info read this:
http://www.montanawildlife.com/Lead.html
"An elk owned by eastern Idaho elk rancher Rex Rammell has tested positive a second time for red deer genes, prompting the Idaho Department of Agriculture to order it killed, neutered or shipped out of the state.
In September, Gov. Jim Risch ordered the Idaho Department of Fish and Game to kill 160 elk that escaped from Rammell's Chief Joseph Hunting Preserve, sparking a dispute between Rammell, the state and some of his neighbors. It also began a campaign to regulate or ban big-game ranches just as Montana and Wyoming do.
"It's what we feared but hoped wouldn't happen," Risch said Thursday. "This underscores the need for close controls on our domestic elk population."
In 1997, a Colorado laboratory certified the animal as being free of red deer genes. The more recent tests by a Canadian lab found otherwise.
Rammell questioned the validity of the latest test on Thursday.
"I think it's a false positive," he said.
The cow has been in his herd 10 years, Rammell said, and had many offspring. "Why have none of the progeny tested positive?" he said.
State officials said Rammell didn't keep records tying cows to individual calves. So ag officials can't determine whether red deer-influenced offspring remained in Rammell's herd, were killed or shipped to other ranches.
Hunters killed 36 of the elk after Fish and Game opened a special hunt. Elk that had not escaped were quarantined, including the cow elk that has suspect genes.
Rammell's elk have also been tested for brucellosis and tuberculosis. The tests were negative.
The dead elk have been tested for chronic wasting disease, with about 24 results pending. None have tested positive so far.
Rammell said he would comply with the state's order if it reimbursed him $1,000 for the value of the animal.
"As much as I've been bled this fall, you would think the state could find a thousand dollars," Rammell said. "If they're not going to pay me for it, I don't feel it's proper to remove her on a questionable test."
On Monday, Rammell was arrested for missing a court date and released on $5,000 bond. He was scheduled to appear in Fremont County Court on Nov. 22 on a misdemeanor charge that accused him of resisting or obstructing officers. That stemmed from a September incident where he confronted two state sharpshooters who killed two of his escaped elk."
http://www.idahostatesman.com/239/story/63006.html
If you want more info read this:
http://www.montanawildlife.com/Lead.html
