Prince George, B.C. - There is a meeting today in Vanderhoof that should let some ranchers know how, or if, they will qualify for some funding from a new fund that is supposed to help those who were impacted by last year’s discovery of Bovine T.B. on a Vanderhoof area ranch. 

 

Yesterday, the Federal and Provincial government announced funding to cover costs for ranchers. That fund will provide up to  $186,000 to pay for additional costs to producers, like feeding market animals through a quarantine and clean-up of the index farm includes the 25 thousand already provided by the Province.

 

Roland Baumann, B.C. Cattlemen’s Association (BCCA) President and rancher from Vanderhoof says the BCCA appreciates the support “We will continue to work with provincial and federal governments to simplify this approach and make it more time sensitive.”

 

Bovine Tuberculosis is a contagious disease in cattle caused by an infection in the lymph nodes which spreads to other organs such as the lungs.

 

In September of last year, 2007, Bovine TB was discovered in a B.C. bull which resulted in the quarantine of approximately 32 farms.

 

The home farm of that bull saw 66 head of cattle, 33 pigs, 35 sheep, 2 goats, one llama and some dogs, put down for fear of spreading the disease. The rancher has received $77 thousand dollars in compensation which didn’t cover the value of the animals, nor did it cover the clean up costs of the farm.

 

The $186,000 available through the 2008 B.C. Bovine Tuberculosis Assistance Program will help livestock producers who had their farms quarantined cover extraordinary costs. Extraordinary costs include extra feed costs, over-wintering and carrying costs and veterinary fees.