O'Hara Kathleen C, Ranches Juliana, Roche Leslie M, Schohr Tracy Kay, Busch Roselle C, Maier Gabriele U
Center for Animal Disease Modeling and Surveillance (CADMS), School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
Eastern Oregon Agricultural Research Center (EOARC), Oregon State University, Burns, OR 97720, USA.
Animals (Basel). 2021 Nov 12;11(11):3230. doi: 10.3390/ani11113230.
Wildfires are increasing in frequency and severity across the Western United States. However, there is limited information available on the impacts these fires are having on the livelihood of livestock producers and their animals. This work presents the results of a survey evaluating the direct and indirect impacts of the 2020 wildfire season on beef cattle, dairy cattle, sheep, and goat, producers in California, Oregon, and Nevada. Seventy completed surveys were collected between May and July 2021. While dairy producers reported no direct impacts from the fires, beef, sheep, and goat producers were impacted by evacuations and pasture lost to fires. Only beef producers reported losses due to burns and burn-associated deaths or euthanasia. Dairy, beef, sheep, and goat producers observed reduced conception, poor weight gain, and drops in milk production. All but dairy producers also observed pneumonia. Lower birthweights, increased abortion rates, and unexplained deaths were reported in beef cattle, sheep, and goats. This work documents the wide-ranging impacts of wildfires on livestock producers and highlights the need for additional work defining the health impacts of fire and smoke exposure in livestock, as well as the policy changes needed to support producers experiencing direct and indirect losses.
美国西部地区野火发生的频率和强度正在增加。然而，关于这些火灾对畜牧生产者及其牲畜生计的影响，可用信息有限。这项工作展示了一项调查的结果，该调查评估了2020年野火季节对加利福尼亚州、俄勒冈州和内华达州的肉牛、奶牛、绵羊和山羊生产者的直接和间接影响。2021年5月至7月期间收集了70份完整的调查问卷。虽然奶牛生产者报告火灾没有直接影响，但肉牛、绵羊和山羊生产者受到了疏散以及因火灾而失去牧场的影响。只有肉牛生产者报告了烧伤、与烧伤相关的死亡或安乐死造成的损失。奶牛、肉牛、绵羊和山羊生产者都观察到受孕率降低、体重增加不佳和产奶量下降。除了奶牛生产者外，其他生产者还观察到肺炎。肉牛、绵羊和山羊出现了出生体重降低、流产率增加和不明原因死亡的情况。这项工作记录了野火对畜牧生产者的广泛影响，并强调需要开展更多工作来确定火灾和烟雾暴露对牲畜健康的影响，以及支持遭受直接和间接损失的生产者所需的政策变化。
