[blackbelly] free or low-cost genetic testing for scrapie resistance

[Carol J. Elkins]

Several states have been awarded USDA grants to subsidize genetic testing 
for scrapie resistance.  I know Colorado is one of the states because I 
just had three of my rams tested. I believe Nevada, Washington, and 
California have also been awarded monies, but you need to check with your 
State Veterinarian's office to find out.

If your state has been funded for this program, it means that you only have 
to pay a minimal fee to have blood drawn from your rams and tested for 
Codon 171. This is the test to determine if your ram is resistant to 
scrapie. Here in Colorado the test will cost me $3.00 per ram and in all 
likelihood that fee will be waived.

There is no known case of scrapie in hair sheep. It would seem silly to 
test for something that we already know our sheep carry the resistance for. 
However, we are beginning to see a strong market preference for sheep that 
can be shown (by testing) to carry the resistance. This is because one of 
the most effective ways to eradicate scrapie is to select for animals who 
carry the resistance. Since I'm pretty sure that all hair sheep are 
genetically resistant, and now I will be able to prove it with results from 
a test, my sheep will be more sought after by woolie sheep breeders looking 
for hair sheep to cross with their flock. I should be able to command a 
higher price in the breeding market for these animals. In addition, there 
may be opportunities to market your sheep to places such as Hawaii that are 
regulating the importation of sheep to only those animals who have been 
tested. Finally, the more hair sheep we add to the USDA genotype database, 
the stronger case we have to support our belief that all hair sheep are 
genetically resistant to scrapie.

This program will run through the end of August. You can learn more about 
scrapie at http://www.animalagriculture.org/scrapie/Scrapie.htm and watch a 
very informative video at 
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/lpa/video/videofiles/goats.ram that will help you 
learn to identify the clinical symptoms of scrapie.

Why should you bother learning how to identify a disease that your sheep 
don't carry? Here's why: if you purchase stock off a farm, or buy stock at 
an auction, your hair sheep may be housed with other breeds of woolie sheep 
that DO carry the disease. (Most prevalent are the black-faced sheep 
breeds.) You need to be able to identify the clinical signs of scrapie so 
that you know NOT to purchase sheep from that flock. Once the clinical 
signs of scrapie are evident, that sheep is guaranteed to die and in all 
likelihood, the flock it came from is infected, too.

Finally, you all know that I am a long-time opponent to the scrapie tagging 
program and to the upcoming animal identification program. Nevertheless, 
the scrapie program is now the law and all sheep breeders are required to 
comply. If for no other reason, you need to obtain a flock ID and tag your 
animals for YOUR OWN PROTECTION. Under the law, if a scrapie-infected sheep 
is found in your flock and does not have a scrapie tag, you are considered 
to be the flock of origin for that sheep and will bear responsibility for 
the consequences. Therefore, it is very important that you REQUIRE the 
person who sells a sheep to you to affix THEIR flock ID tag in the animal's 
ear. That way, you can always point to someone else as being the actual 
flock of origin if that animal is ever diagnosed with scrapie.
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