A farmer near Prince Albert, Sask., will learn the fate of his 350 head
of elk in February, after one of his slaughtered animals tested
positive for chronic wasting disease.
George Luterbach of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency confirmed the
latest case of the fatal brain disorder Jan. 21. He said it will take a
couple of weeks to determine whether all or some of the herd will be
eliminated.
The herd is under quarantine pending the results.
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In all 38 previous CWD cases, complete herds were destroyed.
“My initial impression is it does not look like it has a direct link to
the known infected herd, but we have to check out all possible sources
before we can say where the disease came from,” Luterbach said.
To date, all animals that have tested positive have been traced to one
source, a Colorado-born cow elk sold to a Saskatchewan elk breeder by a
South Dakota game farm. Discovery of a CWD-infected animal from a
different origin would be a significant blow to the elk industry.
Over the last two years, approximately 7,500 elk and deer from 38
Saskatchewan farms have been destroyed.
Luterbach said the two cases of CWD in wild mule deer discovered near
affected farms in the Lloydminster area suggest the disease is not
widespread in the wild.
Provincial environment department testing of approximately 4,500 wild
deer is expected to be complete by month’s end. So far, all tests have
proven negative.
In the latest case, the infected elk was slaughtered for meat on the
farm where it was raised and its head was sent for mandatory CWD tests,
which have been in place for the last two years.
“One of the reasons we have the mandatory CWD surveillance program is
to find all possible cases out there and to make sure any pockets are
found so we can eradicate the disease quickly,” said Denise Smith,
executive director of the Saskatchewan Elk Breeders Association.
Luterbach said producers and government have a big investment in elk
and want to see CWD eradicated.
“We do not see this (latest case) as a setback, but as an unfortunate
situation,” said Luterbach.
“The sooner we discover these animals, the sooner we can reduce the
risk to other farms and to the wild.”
However Leoville, Sask., cattle producer Ken McDaid is concerned about
the possible spread of CWD to herds like his, noting little is known
about the disease.
CWD is a fatal brain disorder believed to be caused by an infectious
particle called a prion. It is similar to scrapie in sheep, bovine
spongiform encephalopathy in cows, and new variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob
disease in humans. Current scientific data does not show a direct link
between the human disease and CWD or BSE.
McDaid said it is naive to think there is only one source of infected
animals, given the large numbers of elk imported from the United States.
He said many cattle producers are remaining quiet over the issue,
fearing that drawing attention to possible CWD risks to other animals
might hurt cattle prices.
McDaid, a hunter and angler who heads the Saskatchewan Fair Chase
League, also believes congregating animals like elk leads to increased
risks of disease.
