Treating Ignorance (lack of knowledge)

Raising cattle requires controlling parasites.  There are many that attack the animals both internally and externally.  The large, flying critter you see in this photo is a horse fly resting upon the back of one of our calves.  If you look more closely, to put it in perspective, you will see a number of horn flies toward the edges of the photo.  There is quite a difference in their size.  Both are irritants to the cattle.

The horse flies are a source of the organism that causes Anaplasmosis.  They carry tiny rickettsial parasites called Anaplasma marginale or Anaplasma centrale which cause severe anemia.  The parasites can also be carried by ticks, but in our area, the horse flies seem to be the primary vector.  Fortunately, it is easily treatable with tetracycline.  Without treatment an animal -- especially mature ones -- will usually die within a matter of a few weeks.

The movement by many toward livestock production without the use of chemicals or, antibiotics is one based in ignorance.  No rancher uses such things unless they are necessary to protect their animals from disease and possibly death.  All products available for use on animals have been tested and the rates at which they disappear from being present in the blood, or tissue of the animal through normal metabolic processes has been determined.  This provides for a known withdrawal date on any products that are used.  Most are completely gone from the animal within a very short time.  Animals can't be harvested for meat if there is any residue and are tested at the harvest facility for such.

One of the arguments against the use of antibiotics in animals is that it causes organisms to become resistant and therefore the treatment becomes less effective over time.  There is certainly some validity to the point, however, the majority of organisms that are treated are species specific and not zoonotic.  Zoonosis is the transfer of pathogens between species -- such as tuberculosis -- but the list of such diseases is fairly short and when they occur in livestock they are reported to the state Animal Health Commission and steps are taken to isolate any infected animals and prevent the spread.

I use fly spray to help control the pesky horse flies and horn flies which attack my cattle.  I've used the same sprays in my kitchen!  It seems beyond cruel to me to allow the flies to constantly attack the cattle and potentially make them sick through the parasites they carry.  The female horse flies have strong cutting mandibles which they use to slice open the skin.  They then will sit and drink the blood from the seeping wound.  As they do so, the parasites they carry within their saliva enter the wound and the blood stream of the animal and present the risk of disease.  If the cattle show signs of sickness I immediately treat them with an antibiotic targeted at the disease.

If you are one who is on the bandwagon of the crusaders who wish to ban the use of such products in livestock, please take a minute to consider the cruelty that will be inflicted on those animals.  Today we are able to produce a safe and wholesome product because those tools are available.  Without them, a lot of animals would die a slow death from disease.

I suppose this seems like a morbid subject early in the morning.  It is on my mind because I am about to head out to doctor a sick calf.  Those animals are my responsibility as long as they are in my care.  I will do my best to raise them in a manner that respects them and provides the best environment in which they can thrive.