Hundreds of steers mysteriously turn up dead in Wisconsin

Tuesday, January 18, 2011 by: Jonathan Benson, staff writer
Tags: animal deaths, cows, health news

(NaturalNews) In the latest of a string of mysterious animal deaths taking place across the globe, the Portage County, Wisc., Sheriff's Department recently issued a press release about 200 steers that were found dead on a farm field in the Town of Stockton. Preliminary tests by the owner's veterinarian showed that the steers died of atypical interstitial pneumonia (AIP), but authorities reportedly also sent samples to Madison for further testing.

According to reports, the steers did not respond to treatments given them after the first signs of symptoms, and all died within 12 hours. The owner has not provided comment to reporters about the situation.

Oddly, authorities were quick to dismiss any potential threat to humans or other animals from the dead animals, even though the infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR) and bovine virus diarrhea (BVD) viruses they were claimed to have died from are highly contagious. Authorities hauled the animals out from the farm in giant semi-trucks, where they were stacked in piles exposed to the open air.

The stated cause of death was actually only a guess on the part of both the farmer and his veterinarian, according to reports. And after speaking with local sheriff's deputies about the incident, neither the farmer nor his veterinarian have spoken to the media about the issue. As of this writing, the local investigation is now being headed up by the Portage County Humane Society.

This strange addition to the long and growing list of inexplicable animal deaths is highly concerning, as a virus of this nature is unlikely to wipe out an entire herd within the short period of time that these animals died.

NaturalNews continues to track all cases of known animal deaths, and has been compiling a comprehensive list of all that have occurred in recent weeks. To view that list, visit:
https://www.naturalnews.com/030985_mysterious...

Sources for this story include:

http://www.wisconsinrapidstribune.com/articl...

http://www.wsaw.com/news/headlines/Dead_Cows...
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