About 20 premises involved in the southern Alberta and southern Saskatchewan bovine tuberculosis investigation have been released from quarantine and another 53 remain under quarantine pending test results.
Those are the latest numbers provided by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, which started the investigation last fall and has since organized the destruction of about 10,500 cattle.
Six animals have tested positive for tuberculosis, and those were discovered in the early days of testing. All had the same strain of the illness.
Karin Schmid, beef production specialist with Alberta Beef Producers, said last week that testing remains to be done on a few herds but that has been postponed be-cause of calving season.
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Testing of the trace-in herds, from producers who sold cattle to the infected premises within the last five years, will continue in the fall, said Schmid.
Producers affected by the quarantine who have had herds re-leased are concerned that their cattle will be viewed differently at sale and discounted.
Schmid said that hasn’t been the case so far.
“There’s a big fear about that discrimination. All we can do is hope that people take the time to understand. Cattle from these herds, they’ve all been tested. They’re probably the safest ones in the country.”
ABP and the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association have been noting the safety of released herds in their recent newsletters.
“An important takeaway for the beef sector is that cattle eligible for a full release from quarantine carry no higher risk than other animals in Canada, and quite possibly a lower risk given that the whole herd has been tested, and any reactor animals removed,” the CCA said in its recent newsletter.
“A full release from quarantine is in effect a clean bill of health with regard to bTB (bovine tuberculosis).”
Cattle from premises released from quarantine can be sold, moved or mingled with other cattle, as owners see fit, although the standard record keeping is expected.
About 7,500 animals had been released from quarantine as of March 14, the most recent number posted by the CFIA.
“These guys have been through enough,” said Schmid about producers who were part of the investigation. “Let’s not punish them more.”
