Environment

Health Inspections For Racing Cows, Pigs, Goats, Sheep, and Deer

Low angle view of Horse race. horse, race, racing, ride, riding, jocky, sport, track, run, jockey

Low angle view of Horse race.
horse, race, racing, ride, riding, jocky, sport, track, run, jockey

We got an urgent press release Tuesday from the Idaho (horse) Racing Commission warning of a virus in the racing industry.

In light of the “instant racing, historic gambling, video slot machines,” which the legislature repealed and the Guv vetoed we immediately concluded there was a computer problem.

Not so. In a document worthy of the toughest New York Times crossword puzzle, the folks at the racing commission tell us the commission has “CONFIRMED that Vesicular Stomatitis Virus (VSV) has been confirmed in horses in Utah, New Mexico and Arizona in the last week.”

Any livestock (equine, bovine, porcine, caprine, ovine, or cervidae) entering Idaho for live racing have to be inspected.

The GUARDIAN spent some time on the interwebnet and found some enlightenment for you non-library types.

VESICULAR–Anatomy & Zoology, a small fluid-filled bladder, sac, cyst, or vacuole within the body.
STOMATITIS–inflammation of the mucous membrane of the mouth.
EQUINE–(Horse), BOVINE (cow), PORCINE (pig), CAPRINE (goat), OVINE (sheep), CERVIDAE (deer).

First it was the legislature and the Indians that threatened the existence of live horse racing, now it’s mouth blisters in out-of-state horses.

Lamb on a farm in Lenawee County, Michigan.

Lamb on a farm in Lenawee County, Michigan.

Goats graze on a farm in the Amazon near Manaus, Brazil.

Goats graze on a farm in the Amazon near Manaus, Brazil.

While there is no news about cow, pig, goat, sheep, or deer races in the near future, the inspection order applies to those critters if they engage in live race meets.

Lobbyist for the Indians, Bill Roden told the GUARDIAN, “As long as it’s parimutuel, all those animals can probably race each other legally.”

The release follows:

THE PRESS RELEASE
Effective immediately, the Idaho State Racing Commission and the Idaho State Department of Agriculture is requiring the following for Live Race Meets in Idaho from horses being imported from states where VSV has been diagnosed:

Any livestock (equine, bovine, porcine, caprine, ovine, or cervidae) entering Idaho from a premises where vesicular stomatits has been diagnosed within the last thirty (30) days shall be accompanied by a certificate of veterinary inspection dated within fourteen (14) days of entry containing the following statement:

“All animals identified on this certificate of veterinary inspection have been examined and found to be free from Vesicular Stomatitis.  During the last thirty (30) days, these animals have neither been exposed to VS nor located within an area where VS has been diagnosed.”

Any horses traveling from a state with a confirmed case of Vesicular Stomatitis MUST call for an entry permit prior to shipment.  To obtain an entry permit, contact the Idaho Race Racing Commission Veterinarian, Dr. Scott Leibsle at (208) 608-4719.   

Comments & Discussion

Comments are closed for this post.

  1. Grumpy ole Guy
    May 5, 2015, 9:48 pm

    I heard on NPR just last week that pigs can run as fast as 30 MPH. Is the Guardian now an advocate of and for (healthy) pig racing?

  2. chicago sam
    May 6, 2015, 7:35 am

    I can assure you VS is no joke if it shows up. Closely related to hoof and mouth disease it showed up in dairy cattle in Idaho in the 1990’s. The state was quarantined and serious economic harm to dairyman raising replacement heifers for the California market as they had no where to go with their heifers which when impregnated could not wait for the quarantine to be lifted. There is also online a story where the contact person for a minor outbreak in Montpelier in horses is referred to a Wayne Hoffman with the Idaho Dept. of Agriculture.

  3. While on the topic of critter-racing…

    Has anybody heard whether the Weenie Dog Races are still on?

    The Boise Host Lions scheduled a racing event on May 30 as a fund raiser… the Second Annual! But then an area greyhound rescue group threw a wrench in the cogs, pointing out that dog racing is a felony in Idaho.

    Story: http://www.kboi2.com/news/local/Wiener-dog-racing-legal-or-not-298408171.html

    Oh, the irony! Lions being jailed for racing weenie-dogs!

    Perhaps a veterinarian in the Guardian reading audience could tell us if dachshunds can get the dreaded mouth blisters.

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