Bob Kirkpatrick was sympathetic when he heard that the first case of
chronic wasting disease had recently been found in an Alberta elk herd.
The president of the Saskatchewan Elk Breeders Association was one of
the few people who would know the shock the Alberta family experienced
when they heard their entire elk herd would have to be slaughtered.
Kirkpatrick’s herd of 66 bulls was the first herd of elk to be
slaughtered in Canada because of chronic wasting disease.
Read Also
Government, industry seek canola tariff resolution
Governments and industry continue to discuss how best to deal with Chinese tariffs on Canadian agricultural products, particularly canola.
“I was quite devastated. My whole herd went down.”
Few people had even heard of CWD until 1999. Now most elk farmers can
reel off statistics of the devastation CWD has created.
Like hundreds of other farmers and ranchers, Kirkpatrick had hoped the
newly formed elk industry would provide a secure future near his home
in southwestern Saskatchewan. News that his herd would have to be
slaughtered threw that future into disarray.
“I’d spent a horrendous amount of money and thought I was all
finished,” Kirkpatrick said.
“I didn’t know if it was going to go any further. I thought I would
never be able to get back in the elk business. I felt I was singled
out. I felt I was done and I’d only just finished building my facility.”
While Kirkpatrick’s animals were the first to be diagnosed, they
weren’t the last. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has confirmed 220
elk on 39 farms have tested positive for CWD. They have been
slaughtered. As well, in an effort to stop the disease from spreading,
7,782 farmed elk on those farms have also been slaughtered. Elk on two
more farms have since tested positive for CWD.
Kirkpatrick had bought his seed stock from three or four farms. Five
elk he bought from one of those farms had the fatal connection to a
South Dakota ranch from which CWD appears to have spread in Canada. Two
of his five elk tested positive, but none of the other animals in his
herd did.
“When it started popping up here and there, I realized I wasn’t alone
and we all kind of worked together to overcome it.”
From the beginning, Kirkpatrick was encouraged to stay in the industry.
People he talked to believed CWD is a disease the industry could
survive.
“I stayed involved, I was on the board of directors at the time. I
think it’s something we can overcome. I think it’s something that’s
being handled quite well.”
He also wanted to stay in the business to recoup some of his investment
in special buildings, a new handling facility, a water system and seven
kilometres of fences.
“Plus I really enjoyed working with the animals,” he said.
“They really do have personalities.”
Kirkpatrick took his time when he made the decision to restock his
farm. He bought elk, but didn’t bring them back to his farm until this
past August to ensure they were free of the disease.
