Ok, I have a question. What rights as hunters do we have in the decision making process on how to react to bTB, EHD, CWD, etc? Is the proof of such cases immediately available to the public? If not, why?

Proof of what??

All this is mostly handled though BOAH...

I heard that the dnr was potentially not showing the lab results for the alleged deer testing positive for tb in Franklin county. If this were the case then all the deer reduction was potentially based off of speculation, not lab results.

Anyone else hearing this?

I hope you really don't believe that info!!!

Read here...
http://www.in.gov/boah/2396.htm

Brew, where can the public get a copy of the actual results of the positive bTB tests?

Try this person..

Denise Derrer. dderrer@boah.IN.gov
Public Information Director
Indiana State Board of Animal Health
Discovery Hall, Ste. 100
1202 E. 38th Street
Indianapolis, IN 46205-2898
Phone: 317-544-2414
www.boah.in.gov

I am friends with a farmer whose herd of cattle was destroyed in 2011 because one of the cattle tested positive for bTB. He has asked BOAH on several occasions to provide him with proof (lab results or any other documentation) confirming the positive testing. To date, they have not provided this information to him.

Didn't he get paid for all the cattle that were destroyed?

Real sure all the Deer/elk famers got paid!

Yes, he did get paid what BOAH said was fair market value, but he lost thousands of dollars in the deal. You are losing track of my question, why hasn't BOAH provided him with physical proof of the bTB? Is the public just supposed to take their word as proof? He has asked several times to see the lab test results or any documentation that they can provide and they have come up with nothing for him to date.

That is one of the people that he has contacted and got no where.

I just personally left a message for Denise. I will let you know if she will provide documentation to me. Thanks Brew.

From what I understand Veterinary medical records are considered private records, and that includes laboratory test results.

I just talked to Denise. She said that cattle testing results are considered private but should be available to the landowner. Deer results should be available to the public. She is working on getting me a copy of the results for the one deer that is said to have tested positive. I will let you know if/when I receive this information. I'm going to talk to my friend whose cattle were destroyed and have him again request a copy of the results from his cattle. I personally believe the initial plan by BOAH in regards to Franklin, Fayette and Dearborn counties was a little too aggressive and that Indiana deer hunters should have a voice in how to handle such situations in the future. I'm not saying that they should be the only entity involved in this decision making process but should be one of several.

I just heard from Denise. BOAH is trying to decide whether documentation that shows that the one deer that tested positive for bTB in Franklin county should be available to the public or not. How can I be the only person that has asked for this documentation? How can this documentation not be readily available to the public? I was under the impression that the people of Indiana own the deer herd? Hopefully BOAH will make the right decision and send this information to me.
Also, I confirmed that the landowner whose cattle were destroyed because of testing positive for bTB has indeed requested to see the documentation showing that his cattle tested positive and has not received it. It was 2011 when the bTB was said to have been detected. Is it too much to ask that the owner of the cattle have access to this documentation? He never got a report on bTB despite a demand letter from his attorney. A few days after the demand letter was received, he was audited by the IRS. The audit went on for eleven months. That was probably just a coincidence.
I'll let you know if I actually get the documentation that I requested but it doesn't look promising.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

BOAH and DNR to Host Two Community Meetings
on Bovine Tuberculosis in Brookville, Ind.

INDIANAPOLIS (12 January 2016)—The Indiana State Board of Animal Health (BOAH) and Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will host two community meetings to discuss the bovine tuberculosis (bTB) situation in Franklin County, Indiana. This is an opportunity for the public to hear an update directly from both agencies and ask questions. (The presentation at both meetings will be the same.)

Meeting1:
Date: Monday, January 23, 2017
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Location: Franklin County High School Auditorium
1 Wildcat Lane
Brookville, IN 47012

Meeting 2:
Date: Tuesday, January 31, 2017
Time: 9 a.m.
Location: Franklin County Government Center
Commissioner’s Meeting Room, Room 203 (2nd floor)
1010 Franklin Ave
Brookville, IN 47012
(Park on the north side of the building and enter the north side of the building.)

Both agencies have been working to test cattle and wild, white-tailed deer in the area since a Franklin County beef herd tested positive for bTB in April 2016. Since then, BOAH has tested more than 375 cattle herds and DNR has sampled nearly 2000 hunter-harvested deer to determine if the disease has spread or established in the area. To date, two cattle herds (on three sites) and one wild whitetail have tested positive for the disease.

More information about the disease and the investigation, as it develops, will be available on the BOAH website at: www.in.gov/boah/2770.htm.
###

About Bovine TB
Bovine tuberculosis is a chronic bacterial disease that affects primarily cattle, but can be transmitted to any warm-blooded animal. TB is difficult to diagnose through clinical signs alone. In the early stages of the disease, clinical signs are not visible. Later, signs may include: emaciation, lethargy, weakness, anorexia, low-grade fever and pneumonia with a chronic, moist cough. Lymph node enlargement may also be present. Cattle owners who notice these signs in their livestock should contact their private veterinarian.


CONTACT: Denise Derrer, Public Information Director, 317-544-2400; dderrer@boah.in.gov



Denise Derrer
Public Information Director
Indiana State Board of Animal Health
Discovery Hall, Ste. 100
1202 E. 38th Street
Indianapolis, IN 46205-2898
Phone: 317-544-2414
www.boah.in.gov

Yes, Denise sent the same email to me yesterday. I will be attending one of these meetings.

This confirms what I have been hearing. Little faith in the dnr here. Grey try a new route. Since the dnr is becoming a puppet for the state legislature try contacting your rep. File a complaint under the freedom of information act.

That's a great recommendation. I'll wait to see BOAH's official response and then go that direction. The good thing is that I am good friends with my State Representative so maybe I will get somewhere if I have to go that route.

Well, I contacted Denise Derer and asked where BOAH was in their decision to release the bTB test results. She replied by saying that the veterinary test results are classified as confidential under Indiana law and BOAH's attornies are reviewing my request to release this data. So things are stalled. I really doubt that they will release this information to me. Denise stated that the owners of the cattle that tested positive for bTB would have these results readily available as I stated earlier. I am under the impression that Indiana's deer herd is owned by the residents of Indiana, if so, shouldn't the test results for any deer be readily available to any tesident of Indiana? I decided to contact my State Rep today and requested his help. We will see how this plays out. I am planning on attending the bTB meeting in Brookville tonight.

Keep us updated if you can.....the legal system can be funny at times for sure!

Will do.

Wish I could have been there.

Well kick my shin and call me Jeffro. Lol. I attended the first bTB meeting this past Monday in Brookville and I got to meet Bret Marsh D.V.M., IDNR deer biologist Joe Caudell, Denise Derrer BOAH and a few other IDNR and BOAH staff members. Indiana is very fortunate to have these people representing them. I can say that I feel more comfortable with their decision to harvest deer from Dearborn, Franklin and Fayette counties for bTB testing. Although I do not necessarily agree with the amount of deer that they chose to harvest. I do feel that there were less people concerned about our deer herd in attendance in comparison to people who wanted to kill just about every deer that they possibly could on their properties. I would like to see more hunters in attendance at these meetings when the next outbreak occurs (and it will, it's just a matter of time). I also want to say that Mr. Marsh made sure that I walked out of the meeting with a copy of bTB test results for the one deer that tested positive in Franklin County in July of 2016. I will post a copy of the test results on this thread in a few days for anyone who is interested in seeing it. This paperwork is very vague but I feel more confident that bTB was truly detected.

That is great news! Thanks for the follow Up!