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Calif. Cows Slaughtered, Quarantined Due To TB

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Jul 8, 2008 11:57 am US/Pacific

Calif. Cows Slaughtered, Quarantined Due To TB

FRESNO (AP) ― More than 1,000 cattle at risk of contracting bovine tuberculosis are being slaughtered in Fresno County, where the contagious lung disease has been found at three dairies.

Federal officials have quarantined more than 12,000 cattle there to protect the country's largest milk-producing region from economic hardship.

U.S. Department of Agriculture Undersecretary of Agriculture Bruce Knight is on the scene, and the agency has begun drawing up new regulations for California cattle shipped out of state.

The state's last outbreak occurred in 2003 in Kings and Tulare counties. Until January, California had been TB-free since 2005.

The government pays dairy operators as much as $3,000 for each slaughtered animal. Cattle owners also can quarantine their herds until tests prove the cattle are TB-free.

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