Copters To Round Up Diseased Bighorn Sheep Officals Fear Deadly Disease Could Decimate Herds

A deadly disease that already may have infected half of the 200 bighorn sheep in Asotin County is forcing Washington and Idaho wildlife officials to take drastic action.

Specialists using helicopters were scheduled to comb the Snake River Canyon beginning at dawn today to capture diseased bighorns. The mission was centered on 16 miles of the Snake upstream from Asotin to the mouth of the Grande Ronde River.

After two dead sheep were reported by fishermen last weekend, Washington biologists and veterinarians surveyed the area by plane and confirmed at least 25 sheep have died in recent weeks.

At least that many more may have died and gone undetected, said Pat Fowler, Washington Fish and Wildlife Department biologist.

Dr. William Foreyt, Washington State University veterinarian and bighorn expert, said the sheep are infected with an animal pneumonia called “pasteurellosis.”

However, tests have not yet confirmed whether the disease originated from a form of the bacteria naturally carried by bighorns or whether they were infected by domestic sheep, said Madonna Luers, a Fish and Wildlife spokeswoman.

The disease does not infect humans, Luers said, adding that it can be carried by domestic livestock, but does not affect them.

One bighorn ram has been found dead on the Idaho side of the Snake River, prompting the Idaho Fish and Game Department to cooperate with the project.

However, biologists who flew over the Idaho side of the Snake River Friday found no visible signs of sick or dying sheep among the 70 bighorns counted, said Herb Pollard, department regional wildlife manager in Lewiston.

“We’re watching it closely and we may capture a few animals for testing,” he said.

Similar outbreaks have decimated bighorn herds in the Salmon and Hells Canyon areas in the past, Pollard said.

“This disease appears to be one of the big limiting factors with wild sheep populations in the West,” he said.

The states have contracted Helicopter Wildlife Management, based in Salt Lake City, for the specialized mission to capture the bighorns in the narrow confines of the Snake River Canyon.

“This will be the first time our agency has hired a company to do anything this drastic,” said Luers. “The veterinarians agreed we had to get the diseased sheep out of there if we were going to have any hope of saving some.”

Crew members, all of whom are New Zealanders, will truck in their own helicopter and use special rifles to shoot nets at the sheep. The captured sheep then will be lifted to Hellers Bar, Luers said.

Trucks will be waiting to transport the infected sheep to a Boise-area facility where experts from the state Department of Agriculture and the Idaho Fish and Game Department study animal-disease cases.

The Foundation for North American Wild Sheep, based in Cody, Wyo., has contributed $20,000 to assist in removing the sheep, Luers said.

The foundation is a research-oriented group financed largely by hunters, she said.

The deaths almost surely will halt bighorn sheep hunting in the Asotin area next fall. Normally, two September hunting permits would be issued.

Fowler said about 100 sheep are likely to be removed today. Up to 40 percent of those sheep could die from the rigors of the capture.

“Most of these sheep are already very sick,” Luers said. “Some are stumbling around or have bloody nasal discharge. The only other realistic option is to shoot them.”

The rapid spread of the disease could have been triggered by the mating season, Fowler said. Rams are constantly on the move this time of year and there’s a high level of contact among the sheep, he said.

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