In mid-April, MSGA & MPLC once again submitted comments on removal of Brucellosis from the select agent lists. We are now encouraging our Montana ranching community to submit their own comments in regards to this issue.
MSGA and MPLC support the proposed removal of Brucella abortus as a select agent and have confidence that it no longer needs to be regulated under APHIS, USDA or HHS/CDC list.
The current regulations and restrictions on B. abortus have nearly eliminated the efforts to further vaccine research and other aspects of B. abortus control. Our organizations see the removal of B. abortus as an essential step in the development of new or enhanced vaccines to control this disease in cattle and wildlife in the Greater Yellowstone Area (GYA).
The time is now to provide feedback to the federal government on the harm that the continued listing of B. abortus is causing in the GYA. B. abortus is listed by both the CDC and USDA, so comments need to be provided to both agencies.
When writing comments, we do not suggest form letters as agencies often consider them as one combined comment. Instead, we have found personal statements from individual producers hold great value. You may consider including:
- A statement supporting delisting
- A little bit about you
- A statement on how the continued listing affects you, or why you feel delisting is important.
The deadline to submit comments is May 18, 2020
You can submit comments to USDA here.
You can submit comments to the CDC here.
If you would prefer to mail comments, a contact sheet with a list of addresses is available.
Below you will find a template and example letter producers can utilize when writing comments.
If you have further questions, please contact the MSGA office at 406-442-3420.
