My story: The Real Tragedy Surrounding CAE

(This article was published in part in 2005)

CAE is a very common (if not the most common) virus in dairy goats.
No breed of goat is immune to it nor is any breeder exempt.
Although there are no 'cures' for this disease, CAE is fairly easy to detect by using the
ELISA test through Washington State University (WSU). ++ (see below)
I believe with certain steps, it can be responsibly managed and/or easily eradicated from one's herd.

'Misinformed' people who are not knowledgeable of the virus often seek out breeders that claim to test negative to buy their stock from. If any long-time breeder of goats tells you they have never had any experience with CAE, whether within their own herd or that of someone else close to them, they may not be completely forthcoming. What many new or inexperienced buyers don't realize is that it is possible for any breeder to test in private and not reveal their test. They can simply cull the infected animal(s) and test the herd again, thus having a whole-herd negative test to show to the world. No one knows the difference.

My experience with CAE was less than pleasant, to say the least. Not just because of the test results, but mostly because of the many outside interferences that went along with it. Have I had CAE in my herd in the past? The answer is yes, just as many other breeders have. Did I invite it into my herd? ABSOLUTELY NOT! I tested for years with the test that my vet(s) recommended and I was very careful to ask if other breeders tested, as well, to insure that I didn't bring it into my herd. I considered myself to be very fortunate to never have a positive result because it's not a matter of "if" we will experience CAE...it's a matter of "when". I also considered myself to be an honest breeder and so I assumed that most other breeders were also honest, especially those that I called friends.

CAE can easily and responsibly be managed, either through testing often and culling, or by practicing a CAE prevention program. The most common CAE prevention program involves pulling the kids before they have a chance to nurse, and bottle feeding them only heat treated colostrum and pasteurized milk. In my case, I chose not to bottle feed kids, but to test at least annually, with the intention of culling any positive animals should it ever happen (which many breeders do).

I had sold a young adult doe, along with a few other goats, to a 'friend' residing in another state. When the animals left my farm, they all tested CAE negative. I even gave the buyer/friend a copy of my whole herd test results upon delivery of the animals that were bought. Less than a year later, that same doe, who was bred on the friend's farm, had great difficulty kidding and needed a C-section. The new owner was discouraged and mentioned taking the doe to the auction since she couldn't be bred again.

Feeling sorry for the doe, I offered to bring her back to my farm to 'live out her days'. Naturally, I asked my friend if she had recently had her herd tested for CAE and her response to me was, "yes, and they are all negative. Everything is fine here". I foolishly took her word for it (after all, I had known this person for many years and trusted her) and brought the doe back home to live. Nearly a year had passed and the time had come to thin out my breeding stock, as all of us do routinely. An innocent person came along, someone as trusting as me, and bought 2 young does that had been born on other farms. Before breeding them, she decided to have them tested and one came back positive for CAE. I was in total shock, to say the least. How could this have happened? I thought that I had been careful!

I immediately put a call in to my vet and set up a time to have my whole herd tested using the sensitive cELISA test through Washington State. A week later, I got the results back and two were positive: one was the c-section doe that had tested negative a year before leaving my farm, and the other was her 1/2 sister. I felt like my whole world was crumbling around me and I was helpless to do anything. My vet recommended that I have the positive animals retested, to make absolutely sure that there were no errors. Unfortunately, the results were the same. I believed that as an ethical breeder I needed to contact everyone who had purchased a goat from me within the past year. Unfortunately, I had no idea what I would be up against--or WHOM.

The task that was before me was overwhelming at times. I contacted MANY people, everyone that I could think of over the next few weeks that had gotten goats from me and that might be at risk. I contacted the people that owned the dam of the goats that tested positive on my farm and she confirmed that their dam tested negative. That meant that my animals had to have been infected from a source other than through colostrum, most likely through blood. I knew that CAE's main route of transmission is through colostrum, but that it's not the only route. I now believe that it can be passed through blood if goats are housed together for long periods of time... when they crack heads, through open wounds, reusing needles or even disbudding and tattooing. It may even be transmitted more casually than that.

I put many hours into tracing all of my animal's backgrounds--where they came from, when they arrived here, etc. I finally cornered the 'friend' that bought the c-section doe and she FINALLY admitted to me that she lied to me about her CAE results. During the year she had my doe on her property, some of her goats tested positive for CAE and she neglected to separate them. Had she been honest with me (as she should have been), I would have had the option to test them prior to bringing them to my farm and exposing them to my herd.

By this time, it seemed that everyone in the region knew of my unfortunate situation and at first, the responses were understanding and sympathetic. But, as time went on, I started getting a different 'vibe' from people and I couldn't understand why. I began to feel as though I was being examined under everyone's microscope. I heard rumors. I was told that a fellow breeder had been lashing out against me behind my back, telling people that I run a 'goat/puppy mill' and because of that, I sell more kids in a year than anyone else in our area.

To set the record straight, I have a small, select herd and I breed responsibly. I believe that I was able to sell more kids because of my herd management, genetics, proven dairy character, and I feel I charged a fair price for my animals. ("fair" meaning fair to the breeder AND the buyer).

Recently, I decided to face the hard feelings head on. I e-mailed a few people to apologize for all the foolish fighting and bickering that had taken place. It wasn't until AFTER sending those e-mails, that someone bravely stepped forward to share with me what they had been told. Besides the slanderous accusation of running a 'goat/puppy mill', I had also been accused of selling CAE animals and not doing anything to rectify it. These malicious and false accusations that I have learned about have not only hurt me personally, but most likely have hurt my reputation as a breeder in the eyes of those that don't know me.

For the record, I refunded the money that the unfortunate purchaser of the positive animal had spent on her, and I also paid to have the doe destroyed. This was a course of action agreed upon by both of us. I also refunded the money for the doe kid born to that animal, but the owner chose to keep her rather than have her euthanized. I did everything that I could to rectify any damage that may have been done. What some people didn't realize is that I was just as much a victim as anyone else that may have unknowingly acquired an infected animal. But even though I was honest, and acted quickly, aggressively and responsibly regarding the virus, I was still made to feel chastized and ostracized by some of my fellow goat breeders due to these slanderous statements. +++ (see below)

What causes a person to lash out and purposely try to hurt or destroy another breeder? Control? Jealousy? Or the sheer joy of being mean and vicious? Truth be known, people like this usually have their own secrets to hide, but by them pointing a finger at someone else, it helps to keep the focus off of themselves. They also could be taking advantage of someone else's unfortunate circumstance in order to acquire personal gain from it (sale of their own animals).
If you are new to the goat world (or simply are searching for some new bloodlines), and cross paths with a breeder that appears to be intimidating or feels the need to slander other breeders in order to sell their own animals, my advice to you is BEWARE! And if you have the misfortune of having CAE turn up in your herd, please try not to panic.
Form a working relationship with your vet and work at eradicating it from your herd. Or, learn how to
manage it responsibly as dozens of other breeders have learned to do. Whichever way you choose to approach it is a personal decision so don't feel the need to involve too many outside forces unless you are comfortable doing so.

What I have learned from this experience is that CAE can be responsibly managed or easily eradicated. What cannot be managed are these malicious actions by other breeders that use situations like this to destroy another breeder's reputation through gossip and false accusations. THIS, my dear friends, is the REAL curse of any disease and THIS will destroy your herd faster than any of them. THIS IS THE TRAGEDY. I have been angry, frustrated, disappointed and deeply hurt with the lies and malicious gossip. I do wish that more people had cared enough to ask me if there was any truth to it, but they didn't. So I have to wonder...who will be the next one targeted by a so-called reputable breeder or ANY breeder? Guard yourselves...it could be you.

My only regrets are listening to trouble-makers, putting up with back-biters and allowing myself to get wrapped up in it all. All I've wanted, from the beginning, was to have some sort of closure regarding this horrible ordeal. God knows the truth...that's all that should matter and that's all that really does matter to me now.

++ There have been some recent reports of false and/or misleading test results so it's always best to test, retest and try not to panic if still in question.

+++ People should try to remember that we are dealing with livestock and since there is still little research done regarding cures or vaccines to prevent such viruses, all any breeder can do is their best at trying to keep a clean and/or manageable herd by testing yearly and either culling or segragating infected and/or suspect animals. With yearly testing, it
betters our chances of maintaining a healthy herd.