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Wyoming rancher gets more time to make slaughter decisionLANDER, Wyo. (AP)--The federal government has given a western Wyoming rancher at least another month to decide whether to slaughter his brucellosis-infected cattle herd, state Veterinarian Walt Cook said. The Daniel-area rancher now should have until late September or early October to decide, Cook said. The original slaughter deadline was Aug. 29. "We received official approval of the extension, but it's got some conditions on it," Cook said Aug. 20. "Basically, he's testing his herd again next week, Monday and Tuesday. "When he gets the results, he has two days to decide if he wants to depopulate, then he'll be given an extra 30 days to complete the slaughter." Because it could take a week or more from the testing date before the rancher receives results from the laboratory, he probably won't know if more of his animals have tested positive until the first week of September. That means he could have until the first week of October to comply with the federal deadline, Cook said. If the rancher, whose identity is protected by state law, fails to slaughter his breeding animals by the new deadline, the entire state will lose its "brucellosis-free" market status for cattle. To date, 36 of the rancher's 650-head herd have tested positive for the bacterial disease. No cattle at other ranches have tested positive, but if that happens within two years, the state will automatically lose its brucellosis-free status regardless of what the rancher near Daniel does. Brucellosis can cause cattle and other hoofed animals to abort. It has been the target of a federal eradication program for more than 70 years. 9/1/08 Date: 8/28/08 Advertisement
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