Thousands of cattle quarantined near Yellowstone

Several thousand head of cattle have been quarantined in Montana after a cow near Yellowstone National Park tested positive for brucellosis, the livestock disease feared by ranchers and carried by elk and bison, state livestock officials said.
 The disruption comes at a crucial moment for the region’s beef producers, who are in the midst of readying the bulk of their herds for sale at a time of record high prices for the cattle they bring to auction.
 The quarantine will for the time being place off-limits livestock belonging to the rancher whose cow tested positive — likely infected by an elk — and neighbouring producers whose herds may have been exposed through intermingling of livestock, officials said.
 But the finding will not cost Montana its prized brucellosis-free status, which allows cows to be shipped across state lines without vaccination or testing, he said.
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