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Is Alaska's orphaned moose calf program too weak to stand on its own?Alaska Moose Federation (AMF) leaders have insisted for years that 100-200 calves are orphaned annually by vehicle collisions in Anchorage alone and have assured everyone that they could raise and release the calves into the wild to augment rural moose populations. At the AMF’s bidding, then-Gov. Sarah Palin ordered the Division of Wildlife Conservation to rescue and relocate all orphaned moose calves, beginning in 2009. At least seven were reared in 2009, six were released, and one may still be alive. In 2010, eight orphans were captured in Southcentral Alaska and taken to Palmer, but only one survived to be released to the wild. Now the director of the Division of Wildlife Conservation, Corey Rossi, has revised calf-rearing guidelines and distributed them to AMF members without input from the division’s wildlife veterinarian or approval of his agency’s animal-welfare oversight committee. The revised guidelines will make it easier, cheaper and more entertaining for AMF volunteers to raise moose calves, but may be more likely to sicken and kill calves the program hopes to save. The most significant revisions include a new milk supplement; less restrictive rules for human contact, emphasizing bottle feeding; and eliminating some quarantine and disinfecting procedures. Guidelines for rearing moose calves in captivity were first developed for volunteer caretakers in spring 2010 by experienced Fish and Game staff, including Dr. Kimberlee Beckmen, a wildlife veterinarian. The guidelines were approved by the division’s Animal Care and Use Committee (ACUC), as required by federal law. Shortly after they were completed, the guidelines were given to the AMF, and AMF volunteers were allowed to raise moose calves last summer, without the requisite permit, under supervision of two biologists in the Palmer office. This year Rossi asked Bill Collins, a wildlife biologist in Palmer with experience raising moose calves, to rewrite last year’s guidelines. After they arrived in headquarters, without further ado, an AMF representative picked up a copy. Dr. Beckmen expressed concern that the guidelines were revised and handed out to potential applicants without review and approval of the animal-welfare committee or any input from the biologists who supervised the volunteer caretakers last summer. She believes adhering to the revised guidelines "is likely to cause irreparable harm and suffering" to calves. For example, "the Land-O-Lakes formula, if fed as allowed in the guidelines, can lead to severe nutritional deficiencies, including rickets, in moose calves." Collins has a can-do attitude, but he’s chafing at the push and pull of competing interests. After helping write the original guidelines in 2010, he deliberately “stayed out of it” as the controversy festered. He says he never even looked in the pens constructed by the AMF last summer. It wasn’t his job, and he had plenty of other work. Now he’s been fingered by Rossi to oversee the AMF caretakers as well. Calves fed an unauthorized formulaThe 2010 guidelines required that calves be fed a mixture of 75 grams of Zoologic® Milk Matrix 30/55, 25 grams of Foal-Lac® Powder and 400 grams of water to get the most nutritious combination of protein, fat, and lactose. Neither supplement is normally available locally; however, addresses were provided for suppliers and several local feed and pet food stores may stock them if contacted in advance. As revised, the 2011 guidelines require the use of a different supplement, Land-O-Lakes lamb milk replacer. The formula mix in the original guidelines was based on considerable experience with various supplements used by the Moose Research Center, Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center, and Alaska Zoo. It is more expensive than Land-O-Lakes, which is available in local feed stores, but it’s more wholesome for moose calves. 100 orphaned moose each year,,,, where did all these calves go before ?? Who was in charge,, whoops the author......?? I bet the folks at Beans Cafe could whip up a mean pot of veal soup. In what alternate universe does it make sense to spend $50K a year to raise 6 moose calves. Even if the program was successful it would be irrational. Makes me wonder what the real story is. What's the long term goal? There must be a something besides the stated irrational goal of growing more moose. |
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