
affected by tougher restrictions imposed because of a livestock disease detected around the state.
Luna County Extension Agent Jack Blandford said a veterinarian must examine livestock no more than five days before a competition, show or rodeo.
For local youth showing at the New Mexico State Fair in Albuquerque, the Southern New Mexico State Fair in Las Cruces and the Southwestern New Mexico State Fair in Deming, their animals will undergo three separate veterinary inspections – at a cost to the youth.
The virus prompting the inspections is vesicular stomatitis, which is contagious among livestock. So far, officials say it has only impacted horses around the state, but other large livestock are susceptible as well.
Officials with the U.S Department of Agriculture say livestock that contract the disease can get
blisters on sensitive parts of their bodies, including inside their mouths. The blisters, which are painful to the animals, cause reluctance to eat or drink.
State veterinarian Dave Fly was quoted in the Las Cruces Sun-News as saying that a similar outbreak last happened in the ‘90s in New Mexico.
The new rules are aimed at curtailing the spread of the disease and preventing a larger-scale problem so further measures aren’t needed.
Blandford said Dr. Don Haynes will issue CVI certificates on September 29th beginning at 8 a.m. at the Deming fairgrounds for all Luna County junior market livestock to be shown at the Las Cruces Fair.
Arrangements are pending for CVI certificates for livestock to be shown at the file Deming fair.