quote:In a one-mile span, we counted 12 fence breaks along Ladd's borderland through which Mexican cattle can wander onto his property, mingling with his own stock.
The problem? If these intruder livestock happen to be diseased, they could infect his herd and ruin him.
quote:Manager Mitch Ellis says that in one section--5 1/2 miles wide and about a mile deep north of the border--Mexican cows have all but destroyed the habitat by over-grazing. Why not fix the fence? Because it's too dangerous. "By policy, I've restricted maintenance staff from going down there without an armed escort," says Ellis. "I don't want to say we've ceded the area to Mexico, but we just don't go there a lot. It's been so hammered by drug smugglers, human foot traffic and the Border Patrol, but mostly by Mexican livestock."
quote:But this problem affects more than border ranchers. It threatens the economic health of Arizona's $2 billion a year beef industry, and the nation's beef industry overall, which comprises an estimated 3-5 percent of the American economy. And it goes even deeper than that, according to Dr. Rick Willer, the Arizona Department of Agriculture's top vet and a recent president of the prestigious U.S. Animal Health Association.
He says an outbreak of the wrong foreign animal disease could significantly impact the whole American economy. "If we had a foot-and-mouth outbreak here, our entire beef export market would cease to exist overnight, and the effect would ripple through the economy," says Willer. "When I travel around, farmers and ranchers from New York, Indiana and all over ask me, 'What are you doing on the border to protect us?' They know that what's happening here is vital for the whole nation."
quote:At the Douglas Port of Entry, the USDA operates a station where inspectors check Mexican cattle prior to clearing them for legal entry into the U.S. The process is meticulous, involving a blizzard of paperwork and rigorous inspections to make sure diseased animals don't make it across.
But 25 miles west, on Ladd's ranch, illegal Mexican cattle stray into the country by the dozens. And they do so by the hundreds at Bell's ranch, a few miles from a similar USDA checkpoint in Nogales--all while the USDA says it has no money to fix the fence.
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Interesting there isn't more attention paid to this, especially given the fact that Japan just reinstituted its ban on US Beef after lifting a two year ban.
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I've been doing a bit of research on Hoof and Mouth disease. It's highly contagious, and all cloven hooved animals are susceptible to it. That means cattle, sheep, goats, deer, pigs, etc. The standard response is to kill and burn all infected animals to minimize transmission.
I'm trying to imagine what it would be like if a full-scale epidemic broke out in the United States. The supply of beef, milk, and pork, and all products made from them, would be drastically curtailed. Prices would go through the roof.
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I am highly suspicious of this article and of the threat.
1) All the experts quoted are from Arizona. There is no national health expert.
2) Most of the article plays up the other dangers that may or may not be a result of our lack of a wall between the US and Mexico.
3) Some obvious solutions are not mentioned, such as A) He complains about the 100foot long opening in the US fence, but where is his fence? B)If they continually cut his fence, putting up a gate might be more cost effective, one that automatically closes (spring attached). C)Instead of returning the cows, holding them, quaranteening them, and determining if they are in fact as dangerous as he says. We have no proof that they are diseased other than he says so.
This sounds a whole lot more like someone who is anti-illegal immigrant looking to scare other people into agreeing with him.
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Also, cattle nowadays are implanted with antibiotics, so it's not like they're going to catch the first bug they come across. Foot and Mouth is another issue, but I don't think its as big a threat as the article makes it sound.
This guy, as a farmer, doesn't impress me. If he's so worried about mexican cattle mixing with his, why doesn't he keep a closer eye on his herd? And where's his fence maintenance? If there are cows crossing your fence, it means you need a better fence. Cows (steers and cows especially) are not the most agressive of animals unless scared or forced. An electric fence will hold them back most of the time.
quote:1) All the experts quoted are from Arizona. There is no national health expert.
Fair enough. However, it's quite easy to find information on Hoof and Mouth and how it spreads through a country's herds. Just look up the outbreak in the UK in 2001. Given that freely available information with no Arizona bias, think about the effect a porous border could have on the health of American herds. The threat would not be as high if there weren't ranches on the border, but there are so we need to think about these things. Or not, as it suits you.
Why doesn't he maintain his fence? Well, he used to, before it got too dangerous. The cattle aren't the ones breaking the fences, for the most part. The drug smugglers will go to great lengths to break through any fence put in their way. So building a second fence to protect any one ranch will not be effective. It would pretty much just be throwing money away.
A gate is a great idea, but not likely to work. Based on other things I have read involving smugglers and gates, they're likely to just leave it open and the cattle can still mingle. An automatically closing gate can be wired open or broken. Plus, that doesn't deal with the threat of diseases spread by people coming across the border. Brazil currently has a Hoof and Mouth problem and there are increasing numbers of immigrants from Brazil. Hoof and Mouth is highly communicable and can be carried on clothing or shoes.
No one in the article claimed that the cattle currently crossing the border are diseased. However, they illustrate that if they were, they could easily spread it to American herds.
As to why he doesn't turn every animal over to the state like he's supposed to? From the article:
quote:"The state used to maintain corrals here to hold Mexican cattle, but they closed them, and the closest cattle inspector is 100 miles away in Willcox," he says. "She's the only inspector in all of Cochise County and too busy to come here for some Mexican cows." [...]So Ladd called Assistant State Vet Phil Blair, and he advised Ladd to go ahead and take the animals to Willcox, and Blair promised reimbursement for his work. It took two trips to transport the animals. They had to be dragged kicking and fighting into the trailer. Even with hired cowboys helping, the job took three weeks. Ladd billed the state only for gas and $100 a day for his cowboys.
Three weeks and two 200-mile round trips to quarantine eight stray cattle. Ranching is hard enough as it is; anyone who tried to do that on a regular basis would quickly go out of business.
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