Risk assessment and management of brucellosis in the southern greater Yellowstone area (II): Cost-benefit analysis of reducing elk brucellosis prevalence.
Recent cases of bovine brucellosis (Brucella abortus) in cattle (Bos taurus) and domestic bison (Bison bison) of the southern Greater Yellowstone Area (SGYA) have been traced back to free-ranging elk (Cervus elaphus). Several management activities have been implemented to reduce brucellosis seroprevalence in elk, including test-and-slaughter, low-density feeding at elk winter feedgrounds, and elk vaccination. It is unclear which of these activities are most cost-effective at reducing the risk of elk transmitting brucellosis to cattle. In a companion paper, a stochastic risk model was used to translate a reduction in elk seroprevalence to a reduction in the risk of transmission to cattle. Here, we use those results to estimate the expected economic benefits and costs of reducing seroprevalence in elk using three different management activities: vaccination of elk with Brucella strain 19 (S19), low-density feeding of elk, and elk test-and-slaughter. Results indicate that the three elk management activities yield negative expected net benefits, ranging from -$2983 per year for low-density feeding to -$595,471 per year for test-and-slaughter. Society's risk preferences will determine whether strategies that generate small negative net benefit, such as low-density feeding, are worth implementing. However, activities with large negative net benefits, such as test-and-slaughter and S19 vaccination, are unlikely to be economically worthwhile. Given uncertainty about various model parameters, we identify some circumstances in which individual management activities might generate positive expected net benefit.
Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, University of Wyoming, 1000 E. University Avenue, Laramie, WY, 82071, United States.
Kari
K
Boroff
Western EcoSystems Technology, Inc., 200 South 2nd Street, Laramie, WY, 82070, United States.
Mandy
M
Kauffman
Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, University of Wyoming, 1000 E. University Avenue, Laramie, WY, 82071, United States. Electronic address: dpeck@uwyo.edu.
Dannele
D
Peck
Wyoming Game and Fish Department, 432 Mill Street, Pinedale, WY, 82941, United States.
Eric
E
Maichak
Wyoming Game and Fish Department, 432 Mill Street, Pinedale, WY, 82941, United States.
Brandon
B
Scurlock
Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Wyoming, 1174 Snowy Range Road, Laramie, WY, 82070, United States.
Brant
B
Schumaker
D000818:Animals; D002003:Brucella abortus / Q000502:physiology; D002006:Brucellosis / Q000191:economics / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000662:veterinary*; D002007:Brucellosis, Bovine / Q000191:economics / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D002417:Cattle; D003140:Communicable Disease Control / Q000191:economics; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D003670:Deer; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D015995:Prevalence; D018570:Risk Assessment; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D014959:Wyoming / Q000453:epidemiology
Brucella abortus; Cattle; Economics; Low-density feeding; Strain 19 vaccination; Test-and-slaughter