HUNTING -- An obscure rule change sought by domestic elk ranchers could wreak havoc on Idaho’s hunting industry by introducing a deadly parasite into wild game populations – something some Idaho veterinarians are describing as “Ebola for wildlife.”

• S-R Idaho Capitol reporter Betsy Russell posted this heads up in her Eye on Boise blog.
• See more details in this story from Boise via the Associated Press.

Elk ranchers say their proposal is safe, but they can't prove that.  Nor can they say for sure that elk won't escape game farms and present a risk to valuable wild herds  that cannot easily be rounded up for any kind of treatment to disease.

• Remember the brazen case of Rex Rammel, the Idaho veterinarian and anti-government game rancher who said he could control his pen-raised elk, but couldn't. Then he bad-mouthed Idaho Fish and Game and took the agency to court for shooting his escaped elk in order to protect wild herds.

The deadly parasite in farm-raised elk that worries state wildlife officials is a threat worth confronting, scientists say.

Idaho Sportsmen Caucus Advisory Council President Larry Fry is encouraging lawmakers to keep current import restrictions in place.

“If you think wolves are bad for elk, wait until this worm gets in them,” he said.