Saint Paul – Governor Tim Pawlenty announced today that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has allocated $2.7 million in emergency funding to fight bovine tuberculosis (TB) in Minnesota.

Following his visit to northwestern Minnesota last month, Governor Pawlenty asked U.S Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer to expedite federal efforts to cull infected cattle and to allocate additional resources for the fight against bovine TB.

“Bovine TB is threatening Minnesota’s billion-dollar cattle industry and we need to do everything we can to eliminate this disease from the state,” Governor Pawlenty said. “We appreciate the efforts by Secretary Schafer and his team to provide resources that will help Minnesota and other affected states.”

According to USDA, the emergency funding will be used to depopulate infected cattle herds, which is crucial to prevent the spread of the disease and to indemnify producers. The funding also will be used for enhanced surveillance; not only to identify affected herds but also to determine the source of infection. This enhanced surveillance will include free ranging white-tailed deer in Minnesota and Michigan, a possible route of transmission for the disease.

Bovine TB is an infectious disease that affects cattle, bison, deer, elk, goats and other warm-blooded species. The disease was once a major problem for U.S. cattle herds, but was nearly eliminated from the country in the late 20th century. Minnesota officials have found a total of 11 infected beef cattle herds ‑ all in Roseau and Beltrami counties – since July 2005. In addition, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has found several deer infected with bovine TB within the same area as the infected cattle herds.