The ongoing bovine tuberculosis (bTB) surveillance in Franklin County enters a new phase as cattle herd testing winds down and wild white-tailed deer sampling scales back to a special permit program.
With support from area deer hunters, cattle farmers and landowners, state officials are optimistic about closing the surveillance effort by the end of March.
After jointly assessing the current status of the initiative, the Department of Natural Resources announces plans going forward into 2017:
White-tailed Deer Surveillance
Outstanding cooperation from deer hunters resulted in testing nearly 2,000 whitetails, including a greater-than-expected number of animals older than 2 years of age. All tested negative for bovine tuberculosis.
The excellent turnout of high-quality samples means DNR can cancel previous plans to use sharpshooters to cull deer throughout southern Fayette and Franklin counties. A scaled-back plan will help obtain remaining, needed deer from specific areas.
The revised collection plan allows landowners to remove a limited number of deer using special disease control permits through March 31.
Permits will be issued only to landowners within the core surveillance area established in the 3-mile circles around the bTB-affected sites. Permits allow a limited number of deer to be taken to prevent over-culling in the area.
Sampled hunter-harvested deer were taken throughout the entire Dearborn, Fayette and Franklin county area. Some gaps were evident, and additional animals are needed to verify the disease is not prevalent in the highest-risk population. To avoid over-culling, permits allow taking of no more than 15 deer per square mile.
Special disease control permits soon will be available from the DNR.
Cattle Surveillance
The number of bTB-infected herds remains at two. Testing is nearly complete in the 10-mile radius circle in Franklin County and the Whitewater River corridor to the Ohio state line. The Indiana Board of Animal Health has identified 375 herds (with more than 5,600 head of cattle) in the surveillance zone. As the U.S. Department of Agriculture-required 6-month window to complete testing comes to a close this month, fewer than 20 remain to be tested to meet USDA’s deadline.
The BOAH will trace and test cattle that have moved out the second infected herd. All neighboring farms within 3 miles have already tested negative as part of circle surveillance. Wildlife, including deer and raccoons, on the site must still be collected for testing.
BOAH will submit a bTB management plan to the USDA in February. That plan, which is still under development, will address future surveillance for farms and wildlife near the three infected sites. This will likely include retesting of herds in the core surveillance area where positives have been found. Livestock owners in the core area will hear more from BOAH as plans are finalized.
Community Success Story
“When we diagnosed bovine TB in the first herd in April, we saw the 3-mile surveillance program as a challenge,” said State Veterinarian Dr. Bret Marsh. “When we found the TB-positive whitetail that expanded the circle to 10 miles in August, this job seemed overwhelming. But the community truly came together to help our team make this happen.”
DNR Director Cam Clark added praise for deer hunters.
“The deer hunting community truly made this initiative a success,” Clark said. “Their willingness to answer the call by presenting their harvested deer for testing was astounding. This significant response eliminated the need to hire outside shooters to assist with collecting samples.
The Department of Natural Resources and Indiana State Board of Animal Health (BOAH) will host two public meetings in Brookville to outline next steps and answer questions. Meeting information will be forthcoming.
More information about the disease and the investigation, as it develops, including email updates, is available online.