The Logan Republican. [volume] (Logan, Utah) 1902-1924, 1916-09-12
Dogs, Wolves And
buzzardS Indicted
As Germ Carriers
BY G. w. Barnes Of the Arizona
University

''S'S'ty
The distribution of the diseases
and pests of livestock into the home,
the watering trough and throughout
the range pastures, is greatly faciit.
ated by dogs, wolves and buzzards.
Dogs have been known to travel for
several miles to get meat from dead
animals. Unless one happened to
know the individual animal he cannot
say what has caused its death, and
this cannot be determined. unless the
stockman happens to be familiar with
animal diseases. Perhaps II NAV have
had tuberculosis, anthrax or actino.
mycosis, which one is permitting to
be brought into his family by a pet
dog and handed out in wholesale lots
to the children. IL the cause of the
death were blackleg, etc, the germs
would be scattered over the range,
And then after having visited dead
animal, such dogs may stop at some
/ weter hole to take drink. thus leav.
ing millions of the germs to mfest
the cattle and If the stream should
be running one, the germs may be
drunk by some person.
The coyote and wolf spread stock
diseases In the same manner as dogs
expect that they do not infect the
/ homes.
There is nc living species Of ami.
NAL life known to exist which can
make more thorough distribution
Of disease germs and contaminate
more range and water than the buzz
| card. Anyone who has ever had the
pleasure Gf there be any, of clean
/ ing out the troughs so that II may
be possible for the cattle to drink
the water, is in position to know
something about the contamination OF
range water by buzzards Everybody
has doubtless heard the argument tina,
IL the buzZard were not in the coun
try to eat up the dead cows, horses
and sheep, 1t would be impossible fol
man to exist. If we could in some
way prevent the buzzard from distrib
uting the disease germs upon tn,
grass in the water, and elsewhere
there would not be so many dead an
finals. because the diseases would b.
confined to smaller area, since the.
would not have such a good medium
by which to spread.
The Remedy
What steps should be taken to con
troll the spread of disease by the doc
wolf, and buzzard, and to keep tn
screw worm In check?
The dead animals should be sys
tematically burned or buried, and tina
will be taking one Of the best step
toward freeing the ranges of dis
ease. Some say that burning ant
burying Is impracticable, others tina
: is impossible; but it Is the onl
way to make the ranges the mos
healthful in the world. Too ofteI
are several dead cows found in
water hole. It is certainly not in
possible to remove them so that tn
water will not become so contamir
ated that other deaths will be cause
from drinking 1t. Sheep men, a
well as cattlemen, would do wei t
, bury or burn dead sheep and whe
sheep die in streams their carcasse
should be removed.
On the open range, however, som'
thing more than the individual e
forts of occasional stockmer will b
needed. What Is everybody's bushes
is nobody's business, and my suege
tion is that the local or county ca
tie growers' associations take u
this matter of keeping the range clea
AS a serious business proposition
? a cooperative basis. A systematic pc
sistent cooperative effort rigidly ca
. ried out by the stockmen will surel
: result in reducing the enormous final
I cial losses due to disease and pest
I
A |