Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Livestock Board Animal Health topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Wyoming Livestock Board reports anthrax protocol, brand inspection orders and ADT MOU progress
Summary
The Wyoming Livestock Board briefed the committee on an anthrax response protocol, recent emergency movement orders for fire evacuations, brand inspection statistics and interstate ADT MOU work including a signed agreement with Utah.
Steve True, director of the Wyoming Livestock Board, and State Veterinarian Dr. Halley Hazel updated the Agriculture committee Aug. 28 on animal‑health preparedness, brand inspection operations and interstate movement agreements.
True said the board had signed an emergency order Aug. 19 allowing livestock movement without a brand inspection for the Red Canyon Fire in Hot Springs County; the order was later rescinded after containment. He explained that such orders are limited in scope and that owners still must notify brand inspectors and typically have cattle inspected again before further movement.
Dr. Halley Hazel presented the board's anthrax protocol and said the department issued reminders in March and July to producers in known anthrax areas advising vaccination. "A known anthrax area is literally where anthrax has been diagnosed in the past," Hazel said.
Brand and inspection trends: True told the committee the agency recorded about 1,628,078 cattle inspections in the most recent reporting year, an increase of roughly 3% from the prior year; sheep inspections were about 228,000. He also said brand inspector staffing had seen turnover but the agency has recruited replacements and is maintaining services.
Law enforcement and policy work: True thanked the legislature for stabilizing funding for the agency's law enforcement function and described training and regional cooperation with county sheriff's offices. He also reported progress on the animal disease traceability (ADT) MOU work required by statute: the agency signed an agreement with Utah in March that recognizes brands as acceptable movement documentation between the states; other states are reviewing similar proposals.
Brucellosis, surveillance, and workforce: Dr. Hazel said Wyoming currently has three quarantined herds for brucellosis (two in Park County and one in Sublette) and reminded members that the state's brucellosis testing season typically runs September through January. She also warned that a 2024–25 USDA reorganization led to the loss of several federal veterinary staff who previously supported state work; Wyoming's small animal‑health team is absorbing additional workload and said they lack budget authority to replace those federal positions.
Ending: The board provided a written anthrax protocol and said it will provide the committee a January update on ADT MOU progress and a follow‑up on federal staffing and its effects on state animal health capacity.
