Rockholm Exonerated

I have done a number of stories on filmmaker Scott Rockholm who claims there is a government effort to cover-up a danger that lurks within wolves. Here are some of his contentions. "We always assume that the damage done by wolves is through their teeth but that is not the entire story. The diseases that these wolves brought with them when they crossed that border are probably going to affect us for decades to come. This includes ranchers, hunters and private citizens. When they brought those wolves across, the Lacey Act demanded that they test those wolves prior to entering the United States for any diseases. They did not do that. They tested for rabies and that was it. They didn't test for parasites and I have the records from the Canadian officials. Echinococcus granulosus and Echinococcus multilocularis can infect wild animals, pets, livestock, and humans. The life cycle for these tapeworms requires a "definitive host" such as wolves, foxes, or dogs and an "intermediate host" deer, elk, domestic livestock, rodents, or even humans. The adult tapeworms are attached to the intestines of the "definitive host" and lay hundreds of eggs which are dispersed in feces by the host animal across the countryside. Animals and rodents grazing where egg infested feces are on the ground can unknowingly ingest the eggs which hatch in the "intermediate host" intestine. The hatched larvae penetrates the intestinal wall, gets into the circulatory system, and migrates to liver, lungs, heart, or even the brain."

I had some people who knew of Scott's work question his knowledge and/or integrity. But then I picked up an issue of the Long Spring Gazette a publication for Idaho trappers. Headline. Wolf parasites deadly to humans. Listen to this. And I quote. Of most concern today, and generating the most controversy, is the infection attributed Echinococcus Granulosis, a tiny tapeworm found in the small intestine of wolves and in cysts formed on the liver or lungs of ungulates such as deer and elk and moose.