Anthrax Killing Canadian Bison and Cattle

A hot dry summer in the Canadian midwest has facilitated a new outbreak of anthrax in both bison and cattle.
Bison in the North West Territories, just north of the Saskatchewan border, have been affected, with 14 dead found over the last week. The area has been closed and travel into the region curtailed since anthrax can be transmitted to humans from infected animals or carcasses.
21 farms near Melfort, Saskatchewan have also been quarantined after as many as 65 suspicious cattle deaths in the last week and confirmed anthrax cases on 2 farms.
Anthrax occurs naturally and the spores can survive for hundreds of years. They often become airborn after a very wet spring followed by a hot, dry summer, allowing animals to breath them in, especially after a 'dust bath'. Birds such as ravens that are immune to anthrax, will often spread the disease after scavenging infected carcasses.