Antianimal Biological Weapons Programs - Deadly Cultures: Biological Weapons Since 1945 - page 232

secondary to an unprecedented outbreak in cattle.” It has been estab-
lished that before this outbreak anthrax was rare in what is now Zimba-
bwe. Hence, any sizable outbreak might be considered almost unprece-
dented.
These figures become important when the contrary position is consid-
ered—that the outbreak had natural but unusual origins. It is possible
that the favorable meteorological conditions combined with a localized
collapse of animal health infrastructure in the tribal trust lands led to the
outbreak. During this period of southern African history, it is also possible
that differences in access to resources could explain the comparative lack
of infections on certain farms. Proponents of this position also cite a lack
of documentary evidence for offensive BW development on a scale nec-
essary to achieve such wide coverage.
Nonstate Antianimal Biological Sabotage
To date, nonstate BW events have included cases of bioterrorism, bio-
crimes, the threatened use of BWs, and allegations of deliberate instiga-
tion of disease (see Chapter 14).
A few of these events have specifically targeted animals. The Center for
Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute in California compiled
a database of WMD terrorism incidents. Of the 853 incidents identified by
2000, only 25 were classified as antiagricultural and utilizing biological
agents. Only 4 incidents resulted in animal deaths. These numbers dem-
onstrate the relative scarcity of their occurrence, as well as the complexi-
ties in establishing an unnatural origin for such events.
An antianimal biological attack occurred in Kenya in 1952, when the
Mau Mau guerrillas used an extract from the African milk bush plant to
poison 33 cattle, eventually killing 8 of them. 22
An example of a biocrime occurred in New Zealand in August 1997,
when a rabbit pathogen was smuggled into the country. A number of
farmers went on record to admit that they were intentionally spreading
the disease to control the rabbit population. Government inquiries into
this practice established that the intentional spread of disease for such
purposes was not against the law but that the original importation of the
agent was illegal. The perpetrator was never identified. 23
As recently as 2000, accusations of attacks with antianimal BW were