HELENA, Mont. - A potentially fatal sheep disease spread by gnats has triggered a quarantine in eastern Montana, preventing ranchers from moving their animals at a time of year when lambs are shipped out, often to Colorado feedlots. State veterinarian Marty Zaluski's order this week prohibits the transportation of sheep from 16 of Montana's 56 counties. The disease, bluetongue, has been confirmed in tests from eight flocks in six counties, said Lisa Schmidt, spokeswoman for the Montana Department of Livestock. The disease, named for the tongue discoloration it causes, is suspected of...
photo: Public Domian
