User:MaddieKeen24/drafts/Brucelliosis

Brucellosis

Brucellosis is a zoonotic disease, meaning an animal can pass on the disease to a human. Brucellosis disease is very serious as the symptoms of this disease can even be deadly. If an animal is affected with the Brucellosis disease the symptoms include arthritis, bursitis, abortion, retained placentas, male reproductive lesions, and even death. However, for humans the symptoms of the Brucellosis disease are joint and back pain, night sweats, cyclical fever, and arthritis. Brucellosis disease has the effect of lasting in the body for extended periods of time. Between the time frame of April of 2002 through April of 2012 there have been 17 reported case of the Brucellosis disease infecting cattle herds. While there are many factors that have contributed to these statistics, one of the biggest factors is population growth. With the increase in the amount of bison in the Yellowstone area, efforts to keep the bison within the boundaries have decreased due to the growing numbers of bison. With the increased rate of Brucellosis there has been questions of what effective solution can help with decreasing the spread of brucellosis. The solution of the RB51 vaccine for the herds in the Yellowstone National Park has results showing that from the vaccination that herds with the vaccination had a decreased rate in abortions, but a constant rate for infection.

Yellowstone National Park is a home to the Yellowstone Bison, as they have access all throughout the park. The summer time is a paradise for the bison as the park encompasses a beautiful landscape filled with water and grass plains. However, during the cold winter the bison migrate down to lower elevation for survival. When the bison migrate down they began to inhabit private and public lands. Since some of the bison carry the brucellosis disease, they are not permitted to certain areas outside of the Yellowstone National Park. This is due to the fear that they will transmit the brucellosis disease to the cattle. However, the elk are treated differently even though some elk carry the brucellosis disease as well. The elk are allowed to roam in the Yellowstone National Park, as well as anywhere outside of the park. Back in 1995, there was a court case after the State of Montana sued the National Park Service for allowing the bison to migrate outside of the park. Following the court case in 2000, a settlement was released called the Interagency Bison Management Plan that allows the State of Montana to use two methods to reduce the population size of the Yellowstone Bison. The first method is the legalization of hunting the Yellowstone bison that roam outside of the park. The second method impacts the Native Americans that have inhabited the park for thousands of years. According to the settlement, the second method involves the bison transported to the Native American tribes who slaughter the bison for meat and hides after capture. While some of the Native American tribes are in favor of this method, there are some tribes that do not agree with this method. The Interagency Bison Management Plan reduces the population size of the bison, in hope that with a smaller population size less bison will transmit the brucellosis disease to the cattle

Risk of Brucellosis transmission has decreased within the past decade due to the experimental testing and extensive research. The Interagency Bison Management Plan has had an immense impact on the decreased amount of risk for the spreading of brucellosis from the bison to the cattle. Due to the separation procedures from the Interagency Bison Management Plan, between the bison and cattle from different zones risk of transmission has dropped. The Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Interagency Bison Management Plan has showed dramatic changes between the year 2000 and the year 2010. In 2000 the Interagency Bison Management Plan devised methods of population control for the bison which included hunting, capture, and hazing. As of 2010 separation between the bison and cattle has proven success, as the recent brucellosis transmission cases have the elk as the transmitter. Research showed that the levels of brucellosis disease in the bison population was expected to drop from about 50% to 33% over the next decade. However, as of 2010 research has showed that female bison who test positive for brucellosis has had a constant rate of 60%. In 2000 observation showed that, “There are about 300 cattle outside the north boundary and 397 cattle outside the west boundary of the park where bison could range if allowed” (White Et.al 2011, 1322-1334). As of 2010 research shows that during the winter months only 50 cattle roam outside the north boundary, while there are no cattle roaming outside of the west boundary. However, during the summer months a whopping 220 cattle roam around land where the bison range around during the winter. However, when it comes to the areas the bison roam the statistics show different rates. During the year of 2000, observation showed that the maximum amount of bison outside of The Yellowstone National Park was 100. However, during the year of 2010 observation showed a minimum of 400 Yellowstone bison in the west management area during the spring time of 2009-2010. A vaccination program was initiated by the Interagency Bison Management Plan to prevent the spread of brucellosis. A recent problem with the relocation of the bison during the winter due to harsh conditions has arose. When the bison leave the park during the winter to survive, not all of the bison return back in the park during the spring. The bison that do return expand their ranging areas throughout the State of Montana.

The United States government has played a heavy role in the attempts of eradicating brucellosis in domestic livestock. Research shows that, “Since 1934, an estimated $3.5 billion in federal, state, and private funds has been spent on brucellosis eradication in domestic livestock” (Cheville 1998). A department run by the USDA and known as the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has divided brucellosis up into three separate classes known as A, B, and C. In present day there is not a single state in the United States that carries class B or C due to eradication success. Every state has different rules regarding the condition of the cattle once they cross over the border onto the state. In the United States there are some states that require the cattle to be vaccinated against the brucellosis disease before entering into the state. While there are many different kinds of ways to test if brucellosis has infected cattle, one of the most known methods is serologic blood test, as well as bacterial cultures. It is recorded that, “some 30-40% of bison in YNP have positive blood test for antibodies are seropositive for B. abortus; in the Jackson bison herd, 77% of the animals sampled are seropositive” (Cheville 1998). The transmission of brucellosis from bison to cattle has a direct correlation to the amount of abortions that happen. In order to reduce the rate of transmission of brucellosis is to reduce the number of abortions that occur.

Brucellosis Impacting Native Americans

Indigenous People have lived in the Yellowstone National Park area for thousands and thousands of years. During prehistoric and historic times, a total of 10 Native American tribes called Yellowstone National Park their home. These tribes include, “…the Crow, Eastern Shoshone, Salish and Kootenai, Shoshone-Bannock, Blackfeet, Nez Perce, Northern Arapaho, and Northern Cheyenne” (Wallen et.al. 2015). All of these tribes practiced their cultural, including hunting the bison as a main source of food. After the Europeans settled into America, the U.S. government began making treaties with the Indigenous People. The Treaty of Fort Laramie in 1851 guaranteed the Native Americans that all land inside Yellowstone National Park was only for the tribes to settle into. The land inside the park was divided up into separate areas for each tribe to live. However, in 1868 the Treaty of Fort Laramie was revised and removed a large portion of the land from the Native American tribes to control, leaving only the tribes the right to hunt on unclaimed federal land. Over time several of the tribes were exterminated due to the spread of disease and expansion from the European settlers. The bison played a major spiritual and cultural part in the lives of the Native American tribes inside the park. Wallen describes the importance of the bison to the Native American people by saying, “Bison were central to the culture of native peoples living or hunting in the Yellowstone area because they provided food, clothing, fuel, tools, shelter, and spiritual value” (Wallen et.al. 2015). The bison pose a great importance to the Native American people, because of all the valuable commodities they provide. However, the bison also pose a spiritual connection to the Native American people as they are seen as ancestors and relatives to the Native American people. With the amount of slaughtering that has occurred to the Yellowstone bison over the years, the Native American people believe the U.S. government is not treating the bison with respect. The Yellowstone bison are the last pure bred bison that live in the United States as the other bison in the country are mixed breed. This results in many Native American tribes believing that the U.S. government treats the bison the same way they treat the Indigenous people; with lack of respect.

Fort Belknap and Fort Peck are two Native American reservations nestled inside the Yellowstone National Park. The National Wildlife Federation works in close collaboration with both of these Native American tribes to restore the cultural heritage that was lost for these tribes. Fort Belknap is home to Assiniboine and Gros Ventre tribes. Fort Peck is home to Assiniboine and Sioux tribes. The bison has played a significant role to the Native American people for thousands of years. The bison holds a spiritual relationship with the Indian people, as well is the main food source for the Indigenous people. The bison that the Native American tribes contain on their reservation is not pure bred, but only about half bred mixed with cattle. The National Wildlife Reservation is working with both of these tribes to bring pure bred bison back to the reservations inside Yellowstone National Park. During the harsh winter months, the bison migrate down to lower elevation for survival. However, when the bison migrate outside of the park, they are no longer protected from the regulations of the Yellowstone National Park. A large portion of the bison that migrate outside of the park are tested for the Brucellosis disease. A portion of the bison that are tested positive are sent to a warehouse and slaughtered for their meat. The other portion of the bison are sent into quarantine for testing. The Yellowstone bison are the last herd of pure breed bison in the world. Fear of extinction is on the rise, and actions are needed to save the bison from complete extinction. The reservations would provide land for the bison to roam around, as well as food and water for the bison.

The Future for Brucellosis

A total of 9,167 Yellowstone bison have been killed since the year of 1985. An organization called the Buffalo Field Campaign works to protect and restore the Yellowstone bison herd in Yellowstone National Park. While the number of bison that are killed each year continues to increase, solutions to solving the transmission of Brucellosis between the bison and cattle have also increased. There are currently two methods available for testing the bison for Brucellosis. The first method is serology which involves the procedure of taking blood from the bison for testing. The test is used to determine the amount of antibodies present in the bloodstream, and determine if the bison are positive or negative for Brucellosis. Research shows that, “Approximately 45 percent of Yellowstone buffalo test sero-positive on the CARD test, the one most commonly used by the agencies” (Brucellosis in Wild Bison Fact Sheet). With so many bison killed each year, a percent this high is not unusual. The second method used for testing bison for Brucellosis is called culture testing. The second method involves slaughtering the bison, and then collecting tissue samples to test for brucellosis through the bacteria in the tissues. While culture testing is referred to as the most successful and efficient way to test for brucellosis, it does raise the death count of the bison. However, research shows that “A combination of test results indicate that only between 2 and 20 percent of buffalo actually have brucellosis bacteria in their bodies at any given time” (Brucellosis in Wild Bison Fact Sheet). Only a small percentage of bison actually care the disease, yet thousands of bison have died. The rate at which bison are culled, it will not be long before the Yellowstone Bison are extinct.

The Draft Environmental Impact Statement-Bison Management written by Andrew Clark, state veterinarian for Oregon, has feedback on possible solutions for the future of Brucellosis. The Draft Environmental Impact Statement-Bison Agreement’s main goal was to restore the bison in Yellowstone National Park. However, there are many obstacles to overcome a population size reduction, brucellosis, and the State of Montana’s laws and policies as they all play a role in the restoration of the Yellowstone Bison. Andrew Clark address’s the two main factors that are vital in order to restore the bison in the park. The first main factor is population reduction of the Yellowstone bison. The larger the population size of the bison, the harder it is to control the bison. In order to restore and protect the bison from slaughter and capture, it is key to be able to monitor and have control over the bison. The second factor is to gain control over the Brucellosis disease in the bison. The main reason the bison are not permitted to leave certain areas of the park is due to the bison transmitting the brucellosis disease to the cattle. Andrew Clark states the fact that the solution to this whole issue is already available. According to Andrew Clark there are 7 steps to solve the issue of the bison transmitting brucellosis to the cattle. According to Andrew Clark, the first step to solving this issue is “…the vaccination phase should be shortened from ten years to five years of aggressive and comprehensive vaccination” (Clark 1998). In addition, constant monitoring of blood sampling from the bison would be in effect. The second step to solving this issue would be to institute the RB51 vaccination to the Yellowstone bison. After experimental test the vaccination proved to be safe and effective. The third step to solving the issue would be to shut down the institutions used for capturing of the bison. After shutting down these institutions, construction would be done to make new facilities used to monitor and protect the Yellowstone bison. The fourth step to solving this issue is to reduce the population size of the bison. The Yellowstone bison are currently overpopulated, resulting in inefficient monitoring and protection of the bison. In order to protect the bison, it is necessary to be able to monitor and control their migration. The fifth step to solving this issue to detain the bison from leaving the boundaries of the Yellowstone National Park. The only way to provide full protection and restoration of the bison is to keep them in the boundaries of the park. The responsibility of detaining the bison to the boundaries of the park goes to the National Park Service. The National Park Service needs to monitor the migration of the bison, as well as keep them in the boundaries of the park for protection. The sixth step to solving this issue is to keep the federal and state laws the same without any changes. The seventh step to solving this issue is to make the Little Trail Creek/Eagle Creek Area a wildlife habitat area