FEBRUARY 27, 2025|
Photo – Representative Bob Davis addresses Senate Agriculture Committee – Courtesy Wyoming Legislative Zoom broadcast
The Senate Agriculture Committee has passed the Anthrax Outbreak Protocol bill, bringing the measure one step closer to becoming law.
On Tuesday morning, District 47 Representative Bob Davis met with the Senate Agriculture, State and Public Lands, and Water Resources Committee to discuss House Bill 90, titled Anthrax Outbreak Protocol.
Representative Davis, who serves the rural Carbon and Sweetwater Counties, reminded the Committee about the anthrax outbreak that occurred in Elk Mountain last September.
Last Labor Day weekend, a dead moose was discovered in Elk Mountain. Wyoming State Veterinary Lab testing determined that the animal died of anthrax exposure. A search of the area revealed that at least 50 cattle had also died from the same cause.
Anthrax is a naturally occurring bacterial disease commonly seen in herbivores, including cattle, deer, moose, and pronghorn. Anthrax spores can lie dormant underground for decades, only emerging when the earth is disturbed or flooded.
Once the spores are released from the contaminated soil, they can be ingested by livestock or wildlife. The infected animal typically dies within a matter of hours or days.
The last, officially confirmed, case of animal anthrax exposure in Wyoming happened in 1956 in Sublette County.
At Tuesday’s Senate Agriculture Committee meeting, Representative Davis explained that House Bill 90 is designed to create a legally binding method of handling future anthrax outbreaks.
The House District 47 representative said the Wyoming Livestock Board developed its own anthrax protocol last November. However, Elk Mountain ranchers felt it did not adequately address the risk the bacterial infection posed to humans.
Two people contracted anthrax during the Elk Mountain outbreak last year. Both survived.
At the Senate Agriculture Committee meeting on Tuesday, Representative Davis said the Wyoming Livestock Board is the first line of defense during an anthrax outbreak. House Bill 90 simply defines the steps the Livestock Board must take after anthrax is detected.
During public comments, Wyoming Livestock Board Director Steve True said his agency follows the protocol established in House Bill 90. Director True said the measure is unneeded.
Natrona County Senator Bob Ide asked Director True how the proposed measure will change the way the Livestock Board will handle future anthrax outbreaks. True said the bill will have no effect. His agency will continue to use the anthrax protocol it developed last November.
Next, Wyoming Stock Growers Association Executive Vice President Jim Magagna said his organization agrees with the need for an anthrax protocol. Magagna explained, however, that the Livestock Board has already created a plan to handle future outbreaks, making House Bill 90 redundant.
Not all public comments were against House Bill 90. Executive Director of the Wyoming Wheat Growers Association Keith Kennedy said due to the rarity of anthrax outbreaks, it is wise to have an official plan in place.
The Senate Agriculture, State and Public Lands, and Water Resources Committee voted four to one to pass House Bill 90. Senator Bob Ide was the sole dissenting vote.
The Anthrax Outbreak Protocol Bill originally introduced by Representative Davis must now be debated by the entirety of the Wyoming Senate and House of Representatives. If both chambers agree to move the bill forward, the measure will be sent to Governor Mark Gordon to be signed into law.
