MEDICINE HAT — A wild sheep preservation group seeks better education about a minor domestic sheep ailment that can prove fatal to their Bighorn cousins.
A Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae, or Movi, outbreak west of Diamond Valley, Alta., in 2023 resulted in 18 Bighorn sheep that were either found dead or needed to be culled to prevent spread of the illness.
The respiratory disease produces only minor symptoms in domestic sheep flocks but it can spread to wild sheep populations along the Rocky Mountains and cause widespread fatalities.
Alex Elliot, from Wild Sheep Foundation Alberta, said most sheep ranchers don’t know how deadly Movi is to Bighorn sheep.
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“The Wild Sheep Foundation has put aside some money to get the awareness out there because there is a lot of domestic sheep and goat ranchers right in the foothills of the Rockies that don’t even know Movi is a thing,” said Elliot.
But once those producers are made aware that this minor ailment in domestic sheep and goats can be deadly to Bighorn, they try to prevent its spread, he added.
“They were really taken back how severe Movi is to wild sheep,” said Elliot.
The goal is to provide testing of domestic sheep to help identify flocks that might be Movi carriers.
“There are programs in place by the Alberta government currently that if you want your sheep tested, part of those costs are covered by us and the government,” said Elliot.
Many producers who live and work the land along the foothills enjoy the presence of Bighorn sheep.
“They don’t want to see them go away and if that means they test their domestic sheep and we help cover their veterinarian costs, then everybody is a winner,” said Elliot.
If positive cases are found, that would require infected sheep be removed from the flock.
Previous outbreaks around the aptly named Sheep River area near Diamond Valley were recorded in 1978 and 1985, with substantial losses to Bighorns. In extreme cases, the disease can wipe out local populations but the average herd loss is around 50 percent if an outbreak occurs.
The disease can lay dormant in Bighorn sheep populations for several months, which allows it to spread widely before being detected.
Movi does not naturally occur in wild sheep populations but was introduced to North America through imported European domestic stock.
