More than 300 Saskatchewan elk exposed to chronic wasting disease will
be destroyed within weeks, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency
confirmed March 11.
Ken Stepushyn, the agency’s acting chief veterinarian, said the animals
have been under quarantine on a farm near Prince Albert since one elk
in the herd tested positive under Saskatchewan’s CWD surveillance
program.
The agency is evaluating the destruction and disposal of the herd, but
he said in the past carcasses have been incinerated.
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In all 38 previous CWD cases, complete herds were also destroyed.
Both the environment and the equipment will be decontaminated with
disinfectants, while materials such as manure and feed will be buried.
The investigation into how the animal became infected continues, but
Stepushyn said it is likely related to the import of infected animals
in the late 1980s.
“We believe this animal is part of that infection that was imported,”
he said.
Animals that have previously tested positive have been traced to one
source, a Colorado-born elk sold to a Saskatchewan breeder by a South
Dakota game farm.
Approximately 7,500 elk and 60 deer from 38 Saskatchewan farms have
been destroyed over the last two years due to exposure to CWD.
Stepushyn said his department is 18 months into its campaign to
eradicate the disease, noting the incubation period for the disease is
36 months.
“It started like a house on fire, and it is slowing down,” he said.
“The number of new cases has dropped as we would expect, as we gain the
upper hand on this disease.”
