Vet claims goat was a health risk at Fair

"The animal in question was a market goat, which several parents, including one 4-H mother present Tuesday, said they saw had an abscess that had broken and drained."

If this was such a concern at the time, why didn’t the 4 H members handle it right then with the club and goat owner?

"Flournoy said regardless of whether or not it was CL, the animal should have been excused."

Since she did not see the animal and know exactly what was going on with it, how can see make this blanket statement?

"Although Flournoy did not see the animal herself, she said the disease is contagious enough that even the slight chance of it being present should be dealt with seriously"

i am not a vet, but if a licensed vet saw the animal and said ok, who the heck does sandy flournoy think she is to say what she said?

less than a month after fair was over, there was a goat show in the same pens as the "infected" animal......

as a profesional, ms flournoy should have declined comment since she was not present.....i suspect the daily news ignored the fairs action to the incident and interviewed other vets to find a contrasting opinion so the story was interesting enough to publish more than a month later..........

sandy, shame on you......

rbdn, shame on you as well........

Hey, this is what the State Vet does. It tracks this type of potential zoonotic transmission down, and decides what, if anything, should be done to protect the public.

If an animal at a fair has potential disease exposure occurring, the event Veterinarian should excuse the animal. This is a highly contagious disease, and should be handled accordingly. Dr. Flournoy was probably providing her opinion about the DISEASE, not the individual at this Fair meeting, although it was not clear from the article.

The information has been forwarded to the State Vet for followup.

Milly wrote:

"The animal in question was a market goat, which several parents, including one 4-H mother present Tuesday, said they saw had an abscess that had broken and drained."
If this was such a concern at the time, why didn’t the 4 H members handle it right then with the club and goat owner?
"Flournoy said regardless of whether or not it was CL, the animal should have been excused."
Since she did not see the animal and know exactly what was going on with it, how can see make this blanket statement?

How could May have "looked at the animal and not seen anything?" I was walking through with my kids and a stroller and I saw the goat in questions with a huge abcess under the right ear at the top of the neck! How did a vet miss that when other showers, 4H kids and fairgoers all saw it?

I walked through that fair and I saw the goat in question with my own eyes. I'm don't show at the fair, but I'm not blind. How the heck the event vet, the barn manager or the fair board missed it is beyond me! It was the size of a small baseball at the base of the right ear into the neck. It was weeping. No matter what it was, it wasn't what people bring their kids to fairs to see.

At least Dr. Flournoy was trying to help the fairboard understand and take care of potential disease virulents that could expose people and other animals to illness. Sounds like more than the people in charge of the fair were doing.

Sounds like more than the people in charge did. And "Milly" why is it the responsibility of a 4H CHILD to address this matter with club leader or goat owner???