Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1916-03-08
HYDROPHODIA MENACE
Due TO Wild ANIMALS
Rowing Coyote Spreads Epidemic
IN Western States.
Through Appropriation by Congress
Last Year Government Expects
To Exterminate Coyote.

Rabid dogs are dangerous enough,
but the fact that they remain more or
less closely in human communities
makes them easy to cope with. Wild
animals suffering with hydrophobia
are more dangerous because their
haunts are unknown, their range is
greater and they spread the horrible
disease which they carry more insidi-
OusIy. Recognizing the growing men
ace of the rabid coyote to livestock,
dogs, other wild animals and even to
humans in parts of the west, the gov
eminent, through three of its agencies
is making special efforts just now to
stamp out the stricken animals and to
check the spread of the dangerous
malady.
Because of its first appropriation
from Congress last year for the eradi
cation of predatory animals the bio
logical survey of the department of ag
riculture has been in a better position
since last July than ever before to
wage war on the coyote, and the hunt
ers that were employed by the bureau
have managed to kill large numbers
OF the wolves. Nothing approaching
determination of the coyote could pos
sibly be accomplished in the short per-
iod since the special government work
began, however, and hydrOphObia has
continued to live among the animals
in the infected territory and to spread
with alarming rapidity to those other
regions.
In the hope of cleaning up doubtful
points about the spread of rabies by
wild animals, and in order to plant
cooperative campaign for killing off
the disease wolves, representatives
OF the biological survey, the forest
service and the public health service
have just held a conference III Salt
Lake City with representatives of state
boards of health and other interested
parties. So important was the confer
ence considered that the biological
survey sent from Washington, A X.
Fisher, under whom all of the bU-
reau's new eradicative work is being
carried on.
The present epidemic among wolves
started, so far as is known, with the
appearance of rabid coyotes in south
eastern Oregon several years ago. The
disease spread rapidly among the
wolves of the region and many dogs,
horses, cattle and sheep were bitten.
1T was thought later that hydrophObia
had been entirely stamped out, but it
was soon realized that dealing with
rabid wild animals is very different
from handling the disease among
dogs. Some of the infected wolves
evidently escaped, for soon the disease
appeared among the coyotes of south
western Idaho, northern Nevada and
northeastern California. Hundreds of
head of valuable stock were lost after
they were bitten by the maddened
wolves Humans also were attacked
and bitten by the ordinarily wary ami
mails, and in some sections schools
even closed, because of the danger to
children In California alone, it is re-
ported, thirty-seyen human lives have
been lost from hydrOphObia transmit
ted from wolves, either directly or
through other animals.
The movement of the hydrophobia
epidemic has been largely to the south
which is thought to be due, in part, |
to the southwark transfer in the early |
winter of large herds of sheep, which
attract the predatory animals. The
infection has also moved eastward |
and is now approaching the Nevada
Utah line This is one of the princi-
pal reasons for holding the recent con-
ference in Salt Lake City. 1t is de-
sired by both the government agents
and the local officials to arouse the
people of the state to stamp out the /
threatened plague, if possible, at the
state line.