CABS
(description & origin below) securing funding for brucellosis
research
Update Feb. 4, 2014
HR. 2642
(Farm Bill) - The amended
Senate Bill 954 had passed in July 2013. In October 2013 a conference
was held and the Farm Bill was amended again, language changes,
becoming HR
2642, which passed the House on Jan. 29, 2014. Feb.
4, 2014 it passed the Senate and is on to the President to sign
into law. Changes that were made was the exclusion of the specific
provision, detailed below of 12101, Wildlife Reservoir Zoonotic
Disease Initiative, which would have funded $35 million dollars
over 5 years for a variety of zoonotic disease research, including
brucellosis in wildlife reservoirs (elk, bison).
What is in the current HR
2642 is Section 6405 (pgs. 384, 385). Competitive, Special, and
Facilities Research Grant Act. This section states, "(a) Extension.
- Subsection (b)(11)(A) of the Competitive, Special, and Facilities
Research Grant Act (7 U.S.C. 450i(b)(11)(A)) is amended in the matter
preceding clause (i) by striking '2012' and inserting '2018'."
HR 2642 does not list a dollar amount for the research, which is
broad and general. But when you look up that Code
of Federal Regulations 7 (Agriculture) 450i "(11) Authorization
of appropriations (A) In general There is authorized to be appropriated
to carry out this subsection $700,000,000 for each
of fiscal years 2008 through 2012, of which—"
They also added
"(C) by adding at the end the following new clauses:‘‘(ix)
the research and development of surveillance methods, vaccines,
vaccination delivery systems, or diagnostic tests for pests and
diseases (especially zoonotic diseases) in wildlife reservoirs presenting
a potential concern to public health or domestic livestock and pests
and diseases in minor species (including deer, elk, and bison);"
So instead of the specific
S. 954 Sec. 12101. Wildlife Reservoir Zoonotic Disease Initiative
of $7,000,000, a year, for 5 years, totaling $35,000,000, they resurrected
the generalized Competitive, Special, and Facilities Research Grant
Act. This section states, "(a) Extension. - Subsection (b)(11)(A)
of the Competitive, Special, and Facilities Research Grant Act (7
U.S.C. 450i(b)(11)(A) for $700,000,000 a year,
for 5 years, totaling $3,500,000,000.
Much harder to track their
intentions towards our wildlife in that general mess - the USDA
APHIS shell game.
S.
954 (Farm Bill) Funding
- In the fall I downloaded the Farm Bill to see if my money trail
research was in there as well. It was. I let a few people know what
was there, that it was just a small part of a much bigger picture
and that the bipartisan GYA state Senators and Representatives were
involved with this. I have copied just the pages of the Farm Bill
that deal with this funding, so you dont have to download over a
1000 page document and try to scroll through.
Subtitle B - Livestock, Sec. 12101. Wildlife
Reservoir Zoonotic Disease Initiative. Sec. 413 Wildlife Reservoir
Zoonotic Disease Initiative. In order to receive this grant money,
the entitity has to "conduct research and development of surveillance
methods, vaccines, vaccination delivery systems, or diagnostic tests
for covered diseases in - (A) a wildlife reservoir in the United
States; or (B) domestice livestock or wildlife presenting a potential
concern to public health." Zoonotic means it can pass to humans.
How to sell wildlife
vaccination (capture, test, slaughter the positives,
then vaccinate the negatives) to wildlife agencies, hunting and
conservation organizations - the shell game. I think it is great
if the livestock industry pursues better vaccines for the livestock
industry, but I dont agree with vaccine development and deployment
against our wildlife.
June
23, 2012 - CABS article - "New directions
- Into the future, CABS decided that pursuing a vaccine targeted
at livestock, rather than wildlife, would be a more advantageous
direction of focus. 'Worldwide, this is a livestock issue,' commented
Assistant Director of the Louisiana Agriculture Experiment Station
Phil Elzer. 'If we stop the livestock disease, the human aspect
goes away. Wildlife is secondary worldwide.' "
So CABS starts selling
this provision as livestock vaccine research. Just a note
- domestic bison and game farm elk are considered "livestock".
So they can say they are pursuing livestock vaccines in their sales
pitch, and actually be truthful. Problem is, you can lie by omission
or not qualifying a statement. Notice the date here of June 2012.
Wildlife
Livestock Group Support Letter for Sec. 12101 Wildlife Reservoir
Zoonotic Disease Initiative
Sept. 2013
(again, note the later date), University of Wyoming, Seeking
Solutions article (saved
webpage in case they remove the link). Jeff Adamovicz, a CABS
science member from the University of Wyoming stated, "Adamovicz
seeks development of a vaccine for elk and also looks at
current vaccination procedures for cattle. Ph.D. student Amanda
Dougherty is studying elk response to infection, " "Cows
aren’t elk, but what’s different in the elk’s
immune system? 'I’m currently using techniques to assess the
immune function in elk in response to brucellosis,' says Dougherty.
'The immune system is poorly understood, and one of the goals of
the governor’s task force was to look at the immune function
in elk.'
Former Gov. Dave Freudenthal created
the Brucellosis Coordination Team in 2004 to chart a course for
brucellosis management. Frank Galey, dean of the College of Agriculture
and Natural Resources, chairs the group.
Elk have a different response to the
disease, but no one understands why. Dougherty is also identifying
genes of Brucella important during infection in elk."
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