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Small Pests, Bigger Threats: Flies and Gnats Spread Swine Rotaviruses and Sapovirus

Annoying. Bothersome. Irritating. Inconvenience. Pest. No matter how you describe Musca domestica, aka the house fly, and its friend the gnat, one thing's for sure - they are a nuisance and pose a threat to your swine herd.

Everyone knows the small stature of flies and gnats and their ability to fly allows them to easily enter and exit barns and vehicles while bringing with them viral, bacterial and parasitic pathogens. For the first time ever, a study led by Allison Knox of the Walcott Veterinary Clinic in Walcott, Iowa, shows the ability of house flies and gnats to transmit rotavirus and sapovirus in swine nurseries.

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Trump Order Directs Review of Gray Wolf Protections as Ranchers Report Livestock Losses

Video: Trump Order Directs Review of Gray Wolf Protections as Ranchers Report Livestock Losses

President Trump’s Supporting America’s Ranchers order directs the Secretary of the Interior to determine within 90 days whether gray wolves meet recovery criteria for downlisting or delisting under the Endangered Species Act. In northeast Washington, where wolves were delisted at the federal level but remain protected under state law, ranchers and wildlife advocates debate livestock losses, lethal removal, range riders and nonlethal deterrents.