En inventering av hälsoläget hos amerikansk bison (Bison bison bison) : i svenska besättningar

Abstract: American bison (Bison bison bison) is a new species in Sweden and was introduced in the year 2000. In this study the result of an interview and a field investigation is presented. The aim was to investigate the health and parasite status in Swedish bison herds. The most common reason to begin with bison breeding was meat production and/or sale of breeding animals and tourism. The Swedish breeder's experience of bison is that they in general are healthy. The faeces samples in six of seven stocks showed in low levels of parasites. Scissors claws were seen in almost all stocks but the owners hadn't noticed any problem with it; whether this is a problem that is more common in some individual is something that should be considered regarding bison breeding in Sweden. Several cases of malignant catarrhal fever (MCF) are described in the literature and it have been seen that both mortality and sensitivity in bison is much higher than in cattle. Therefore it's very important that the owners of bison are informed of the risk of keeping bison and sheep together. From literature studies it appears that bison are susceptible to most of the infectious diseases that affect cattle.