CAE AND CL

[11langenkamp_w]

WHat does it mean when somebody says there goats are CAE free and CL free?

 

[KellyHM]

They are diseases that goats can carry, which can cause problems in the herd. A herd being "free" means the blood tests have come back negative.

 

[cmjust0]

They are diseases that goats can carry, which can cause problems in the herd. A herd being "free" means the blood tests have come back negative.

WHOA, NOW.

That's *not* what that means at all -- you can't assume that. What that means in many, many cases is that they believe their herds to be CAE and CL free, and people often make that determination based on not having had a CL knot or suspected case of CAE.

Or, they just lie and say they're free when they know they're not.

So, really, for someone to say their herd is CL/CAE free means nothing. If you're concerned about it, ask to see blood test results on the animals you're interested in purchasing and make sure you can match the test to the actual animals.

 

[4hmama]

NOTE: CL free and abscess free aren't always the same thing. A breeder that says they are CL free has a herd that tests negative for CL. A breeder that says they are abscess free hasn't had an abscess, but doesn't mean that they test. Abscess free doesn't mean CL free.... There is always the chance of false positives or false negatives with testing, but a goat can have internal CL absesses that you may never see, yet still have the disease.
I agree with CM above...ALWAYS ask to see the paperwork if the breeder says the goats are tested 'free'.

 

[cmjust0]

NOTE: CL free and abscess free aren't always the same thing. A breeder that says they are CL free has a herd that tests negative for CL. A breeder that says they are abscess free hasn't had an abscess, but doesn't mean that they test. Abscess free doesn't mean CL free.... There is always the chance of false positives or false negatives with testing, but a goat can have internal CL absesses that you may never see, yet still have the disease.

Didn't I just say?!?.....

Okay, first of all, I've never seen anyone advertise a herd as 'abscess free'.. Second, a breeder who says they are CL free could be:

A) Lying through their teeth
B) Making that determination based on having no abscesses
C) Lying through their teeth

DO NOT assume that since someone claims to be CL free that they must have had CL tests run or that they're being truthful.

Period.

Now I feel compelled to answer the OPs question... :/

WHat does it mean when somebody says there goats are CAE free and CL free?

What they're trying to communicate is that they don't have the Caprine Arthritis/Encephalitis Virus or Caseous Lymphadenitis in their herd. That may be true, or they may be mistaken, or they may be straight-up liars. There are lots and lots of liars in the goat world.

If you want to be sure, ask to see blood test results on the individual animals you wish to purchase. If you take their word for it based on visual inspection of their herd, fine, but it's a good idea to either run the blood tests yourself or put them in quarantine for a long time when you bring them in.

 

[BlackSheepOrganics]

There have always been liars in any animal related field. I had been out of goats for a long time and when we got back into them, I realized there are a lot of folks who have simply learned to lie better when selling a goat.

If they claim to be "free" of something or claim to not have a certain disease in their herd, I ask to see the paperwork that pertains to that specific goat or goats, proving such. I then speak to their veterinarian as well.

If they do not have the paperwork to prove their claims, I don't put any stock in what they have to say. If the paperwork seems to back up their claims, I would suggest digging a bit further to make sure that paperwork really is for that particular goat. If there is not an absolute way of matching the paperwork to that specific goat (tattoo, micro chip, or veterinarian's notes) I must consider the possibility that they are representing a bad goat with a good goat's paperwork (have had this happen before).

Sadly, what folks say means little anymore. Not how I grew up. Not how I live. But it is the way it is anymore and you must consider this when purchasing a goat if you wish to have a CL or CAE free herd.

 

[KellyHM]

They are diseases that goats can carry, which can cause problems in the herd. A herd being "free" means the blood tests have come back negative.

WHOA, NOW.

That's *not* what that means at all -- you can't assume that. What that means in many, many cases is that they believe their herds to be CAE and CL free, and people often make that determination based on not having had a CL knot or suspected case of CAE.

Or, they just lie and say they're free when they know they're not.

So, really, for someone to say their herd is CL/CAE free means nothing. If you're concerned about it, ask to see blood test results on the animals you're interested in purchasing and make sure you can match the test to the actual animals.

You're absolutely right. That's what it is SUPPOSE to mean, but not a lot of people are truthful these days.

 

[4hmama]

If you haven't seen any herds advertise as abscess free...just look around the internet. They ARE there. I have seen more than one say 'CAE tested negative', 'no abscesses' or 'abscess free', yet not say 'CL tested negative'. My point was that someone can insinuate that they do not have CL in their herd (by saying they have never had an abscess). Whether they honestly believe that they are free of CL or are "lying through their teeth"... is up for debate.

 

[julieq]

Who are you people buying from? In over a decade of purchasing either standard dairy goats or ND dairy goats, we haven't been lied to at all about health status of the herd. We've purchased from breeders as far away as Virginia, California and Texas and not one has lied to us. Some that we contact have been adamant that CL and CAE are not important (i.e. they don't test and/or don't care about it), thus we don't purchase from them. Others are just as adamant as we are that their herds be absolutely free of any disease that they can test for. Maybe we've just been fortunate, but we've met more genuinely honest goat breeders than the other kind.

 

[bettybohemian]

It means they don't have goat herpes ( Cl) or goat HIV ( CAE
not the same.viruses. bit They are similar so that's just an easy way to describe them.