Thursday, February 09, 2017

USDA plans to use treated corn for ticks on deer

As part of the effort to control cattle fever ticks, the U.S Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is proposing to treat white-tailed deer with ivermectin, a broad spectrum anti-parasitic drug, to control tick vectors of cattle fever in Cameron, Hidalgo, Jim Wells, Kinney, Maverick, Starr, Val Verde, Webb, Willacy, and Zapata counties in South Texas. The deer would be fed ivermectin-treated corn from a closed gravity feeder placed in areas where cattle fever infestation is a concern. Ivermectin is a widely used anti-parasitic drug in humans, livestock, and pets. Treated corn would be placed in the gravity flow feeders from February through July to control cattle fever ticks in deer populations. The feeders would be mandatory on both public land and private ranches with cattle within the tick quarantine area as part of the herd plan for all quarantined premises...more

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