Sutton/ Val Verde County 2019

[TP3]

Man I hate to hear that.

[Sackett]

Just spoke to our landowner and the neighboring property found quite a few dead deer and Anthrax is suspected. He's getting with the county biologist to investigate further.

We are approximately 20 miles south of I-10 off Old Juno Rd

[daniel044]

Anyone make a trip over the holiday weekend? Still curious to see how bad it is. I will be going to our place probably in the next 30-45 days to check it out.

[Texas8point]

We are right on the Sutton/Val Verde County line. When we left, we saw buzzards on carcasses scattered out all the way to Sonora. The groups of buzzards seemed to be more concentrated on 189 though.

That really sucks.

[Fischer]

I spoke with the owners of the property where I hunt, which is 3 to 4 miles down highway 189 from highway 277 and they said they didn't hear about deer kills down the road. They said they would ride the ranch and give me a call if they found any dead deer or cows. This was several days ago and I have not heard any negative news back. Hopefully it hasn't spread that far east from the ranches experiencing the deer kills. Has anyone heard anthrax was positively tested? BTW, I was at the ranch a couple of weeks ago and didn't find any dead deer. I will try to go back to the ranch to retrieve game cam pictures in a couple of weeks and then provide an update to what I find.

[JFRITZ06]

The realtor in Sonora has lost some cattle. The biologist told me there’s been several calls about goats as well. I haven’t heard back about the vet who sent a sample to A&M. As soon as I do I will update the post.
The biologist in the area that I have spoke to is: Ryan Schmitt (830) 703-6808.
I have not spoke to him in a few days to see if he has any new news.
It did look like we got some rain out there today. He said rain and cooler temps will help knock it out.

[JFRITZ06]

This was around 9:00 o’clock

[Bisch]

Looks like some big thunderstorms to the SW of me this evening. I talked to a rancher off of the Caverns Rd, west of town, that said he had anthrax on his place. I’m a few miles east of town, and have not seen or heard anything about it occurring around here yet.

I spoke to a (not local, but very familiar with the area) biologist Sat night. He said, as far as the deer are concerned, there is nothing that can really be done about anthrax, except to wait it out, and hope it stays in an isolated area.

Bisch


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[aggieland]

I hunt down 277 several miles south of town. I'll contact our land owner tomorrow and see if any there has been any dead deer or livestock on our place.

[Texas8point]

I hunt down 277 several miles south of town. I'll contact our land owner tomorrow and see if any there has been any dead deer or livestock on our place.

Any word from the land owner ?

[aggieland]

Any word from the land owner ?

Yes sorry I’ve been busy but I talked to my cousin who spoke to the land owner and she told him that our place hasn’t been affected yet. She’s talked to all the ranches around and as of yesterday the closest place to ours that has been affect is 10 miles south and 14 miles west of us. She also said she sprayed and vaccinated all the cows, goats and sheep. She also spoke to the biologist and said since we don’t have any hogs we are at a lower risk.


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[daniel044]

Yes sorry I’ve been busy but I talked to my cousin who spoke to the land owner and she told him that our place hasn’t been affected yet. She’s talked to all the ranches around and as of yesterday the closest place to ours that has been affect is 10 miles south and 14 miles west of us. She also said she sprayed and vaccinated all the cows, goats and sheep. She also spoke to the biologist and said since we don’t have any hogs we are at a lower risk.


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Good news for you guys, hopefully some of those rain showers keeps it dormant. Not sure how it spreads.

[Fischer]

Question for JRFRITZ06

You mentioned your place is on the highway 189 along the Sutton / Valverde county border, but there are three places along 189 where the counties touch. Can you say how far from 410 you are? Sorry for what you property is experiencing and hopefully the spread will stop and the anthrax spores will go dormant. After speaking to the biologist for Val Verde and for Sutton county the test did come back positive for anthrax in a horse and a cow, and those ranches are quarantined. The biologist also said deer density has an impact on how quickly it could spread. Do you know your deer per acre ? the higher the quicker it will spread. BTW, they also said both vultures and pigs will aid the the spread of the disease.

[JFRITZ06]

You mentioned your place is on the highway 189 along the Sutton / Valverde county border, but there are three places along 189 where the counties touch. Can you say how far from 410 you are? Sorry for what you property is experiencing and hopefully the spread will stop and the anthrax spores will go dormant. After speaking to the biologist for Val Verde and for Sutton county the test did come back positive for anthrax in a horse and a cow, and those ranches are quarantined. The biologist also said deer density has an impact on how quickly it could spread. Do you know your deer per acre ? the higher the quicker it will spread. BTW, they also said both vultures and pigs will aid the the spread of the disease.

We are 2 miles as the crow flies from the 189/410 intersection. Our deer density is probably two or three times what it should be. We have only had the property for a couple years and have been whittling down on them as much as our state tags will allow. We are also learning the property and it’s potential before cutting the herd in half or more.
We have seen where the pigs messed with the dead deer and have also seen a huge increase recently in the pig population on the property.

[Texas8point]

Anthrax Update in Texas

More anthrax, including an equine case, has been reported in Texas in the area where it is historically present.

Texas Animal Health Commission· Jul 9, 2019

Since June 19, 2019, the Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC) has received confirmation of three additional anthrax cases in the area of Texas where anthrax is historically found.

The first anthrax case of the year was confirmed in one captive antelope on a premises in Uvalde County on June 19, 2019. Since that time, anthrax was confirmed in goats on a new Uvalde County premises on June 24, one Sutton County horse was confirmed to have anthrax on July 3, and cattle were confirmed to have anthrax on a separate Sutton County premises on July 4.

All of the premises have been placed under quarantine and producers were advised on vaccinating exposed animals and the proper disposal of affected carcasses, as outlined by TAHC’s rules. Typically, quarantines are lifted 10 days from vaccination or the last death loss.

“It is common to see an increase in anthrax cases after periods of wet, cool weather, followed by hot, dry conditions,” said Dr. Andy Schwartz, TAHC Executive Director. “During these conditions, animals ingest the anthrax bacteria when they consume contaminated grass and hay, or inhale the spores. Outbreaks usually end when cooler weather arrives.”