Three bighorn rams were euthanized Tuesday after the sheep came into contact with domestic sheep and goats, which can carry respiratory strains of bacteria that could lead to large scale die-offs of wild sheep.

NDGFD game wardens euthanized the sheep late Tuesday evening in Slope County.

"I recommended we euthanize them. If they got into the Badlands, we wouldn't know which rams they were. The consequence could be a massive die-off," Brett Wiedmann, North Dakota Game and Fish Department bighorn sheep biologist in Dickinson, said Wednesday. "I looked at it not as killing three rams, but potentially saving 100."

The rams, a 6-year-old and two 4-year-olds, were North Dakota-born and were moving 25 to 30 miles a day. The three rams are believed to have come from a herd in Dunn County and had wandered more than 100 miles.

"As soon as I knew they were within a mile (of domestic goats), I knew it was very likely they were close to those animals. At that point, I can't take the chance," Wiedmann said.

The wandering rams also were within 20 miles of one of the state's largest bighorn herds when they were euthanized.

"The fact that they were moving 25 to 30 miles a day could mean tomorrow they could be in with those sheep. I made the call," Wiedmann said.

The rams were euthanized in the area where four bighorn herds were lost to a die-off in the 1990s.

"It took so long to restore the sheep after the die-off. We have to eliminate the risk at all costs," Wiedmann said.

Game agencies throughout the western United States and Canada follow the same policy, Wiedmann added.

The 6-year-old probably led the younger rams astray, Wiedmann speculated.

"The 6-year-old was in a herd with bigger rams and was unable to breed," he said, adding that the 4-year-olds probably tagged along on its search for a ewe.

Samples from the rams were collected and sent to a University of Idaho laboratory for testing Wednesday.

"I cut up the rams last night. There are no health concerns, and big-game hunters prefer eating bighorn sheep," Wiedmann said.

The Minnesota-Wisconsin Chapter of the Foundation for North American Wild Sheep will pay for processing, and the meat will be distributed by community action to needy families through Sportsmen Against Hunger.

"It's an unfortunate thing. I love sheep and would just as soon hunters take the rams," Wiedmann said, "but in a case like this, we are acting for the greater good."

(Reach outdoor writer Richard Hinton at 250-8256 or richard.hinton@;bismarcktribune.com.)