The other night, I heard something on the radio. Or at least I think I did. It’s entirely possible I was dreaming and made the whole thing up. But I really don’t think so. I’m wondering if any of you heard it too so I know one way or the other.
It was reported that the rules about bringing animals with potentially contagious diseases along with you when you are staying on state game lands have changed. Or maybe it was need to be changed. Apparently there’s been an outbreak of equine herpes in the West and this is an effort to prevent it from spreading to wild horse herds. Okay, so far, so good. I found articles confirming this so I know I didn’t make up that part.
I also found information supporting the other half of what I heard. That there’s been a similar outbreak among goldfish. Here’s where things get a bit murky. The report, as I remember it, stated that several organizations are pushing to make it illegal to bring infected fish along on camping trips in order to protect the wild horses.
I haven’t been able to find any research that shows whether or not the virus that affects goldfish is a strain that can be transferred to horses so I really don’t know if that part is true. But I do know that it’s the bit that had me giggling.
How many of you take your goldfish camping with you? I suppose it makes sense to put your fishbowl on the picnic table when you are out of your RV. After all, wouldn’t it be just like a car, collecting heat, and become far too hot to leave them inside without the air conditioner running?
Here’s the really curious thing. I’m fairly certain there was a discussion on the various ways the disease might be swapped between domesticated goldfish and wild horses. That’s the sort of thing this radio station would explore but I’m sure you can understand now why I need some help determining if this is entirely factual or not.
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