area becomes infested with fever ticks, under the current TAHC regulations landowners have 2 choices — round up and treat 100 percent of the cattle in an infested pasture every 7 to 14 days for a minimum of 6 to 10 months or until the premises has been released from a hold order, or vacate the premises. Any rancher can agree that getting 100 percent of
the cattle out of a pasture with any amount of brush is unattainable and is an expensive use of labor and time resources even one time around. Consider the costs and logistical challenges in repeating this pro- cess for weeks and months. Under these regulations, many times ranchers fi nd
it easier to remove the cattle from the infested pasture. This worked in the early- to mid-1900s, when wildlife populations were depleted by screwworm infestations and unmanaged hunting. The ticks died off because there were no secondary host species to support them. Today, thanks to a very effective screwworm eradi-
cation program and wildlife management, white-tailed deer and nilgai antelope populations fl ourish in South Texas. Taking the cattle off the land only pushes the ticks onto the backs of wildlife that can easily jump a fence from an infested pasture to a neighboring clean pasture. It’s an odd twist, but without cattle on the land, it seems to have become easier for fever ticks to spread
because they fi nd homes on more mobile secondary hosts. Moreover, there is no effi cient way to treat wildlife species for fever ticks. TSCRA is working with USDA APHIS and TAHC
to develop a gathering and treatment regimen that is more achievable and conducive to normal operations. Those potential methodologies include longer-acting acaracides and vaccines. The most effective way to eradicate fever ticks is by treating the cattle on that premises, so it is paramount that regulations are not so burdensome that they make vacating the property the best alternative. TSCRA is also working with Congressional leaders
and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to address the spread of fever ticks, from heavily infested wildlife refuges to private property, via deer and nilgai popu- lations. In addition, TSCRA continues to support the inspection of Mexican-origin cattle on the Mexican side of the border. Read the comments TSCRA President Richard
Thorpe submitted on behalf of TSCRA members at
tscra.org. The rest of the U.S. has forgotten the losses fever ticks caused to the national herd. Ranchers in and near the permanent systematic quarantine zone are willing to keep it that way and work with TAHC and USDA to keep fever ticks controlled under work- able regulations.
TSCRA Submits Comments on Fever Tick Proposal
T
Richard Thorpe III, TSCRA President
EXAS AND SOUTHWESTERN Cattle Raisers Association
(TSCRA) submitted comments in early April
to the Texas
Animal Health Commission (TAHC), regarding the TAHC’s
proposal to amend §41.8 of the Texas Administrative Code relating to the dipping, treatment and vaccination of animals for fever ticks. “The fever tick issue is very important to TSCRA
members, especially in South Texas and the Rio Grande Valley,” said TSCRA President Richard Thorpe. “Ranchers need fl exibility when dealing with federal and state fever tick regulations and TSCRA is asking for the TAHC to address this concern in their rule proposal.
tscra.org The TAHC’s proposed rule
includes a 100 percent gath- er requisite and frequency at which TAHC requires live- stock operators to gather, treat, and inspect their entire herd. TSCRA believes this is unattainable and, therefore, it is impossible for opera- tors to comply with the current proposed rule. “We appreciate the continued efforts of the TAHC
to help eradicate the fever tick and we look forward to working with them to come up with practical so- lutions that allow cattle production to continue to thrive in the area. TSCRA will continue monitoring this issue and addressing members’ concerns,” Thorpe concluded.
June 2016 The Cattleman 121
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