Setting farmed elk free is illegal and risks spreading disease to wild
herds, said Ron Lind of Saskatchewan’s fish and wildlife branch.
Feed shortages, dry pastures and diminished markets have raised
concerns that some elk producers, unable to feed their animals, will
release herds into the wild.
“If they do, they’re breaking the law,” Lind said.
Citing differences between domestic and wild populations, Lind said
farmed elk are less wild and are bigger due to better feed stocks.
Read Also
Ag in Motion speaker highlights need for biosecurity on cattle operations
Ag in Motion highlights need for biosecurity on cattle farms. Government of Saskatchewan provides checklist on what you can do to make your cattle operation more biosecure.
They could run amok on farmland, but he doubts there would be any
genetic impact in mixing with wild herds. Elk have not been raised in
captivity a long time so their genetic makeup would not have changed
much, he said.
A bigger concern is the spread of disease, particularly chronic wasting
disease, which has been discovered in 41 Saskatchewan and Alberta
domestic herds since 2000. More than 8,000 elk in Canada have been
destroyed as a result.
“There’s still a slight risk that there could be some,” Lind said.
The Saskatchewan government has stopped Alberta elk from entering the
province due to the risk of CWD infection. CWD was discovered for the
first time in Alberta in March.
Denise Smith, executive director of the Saskatchewan Elk Breeders
Association, said other than a few bulls admitted last year to a hunt
farm, the border has been closed to Alberta elk for at least two years.
She added Saskatchewan has a mandatory CWD testing program, audits
herds annually and monitors the movement of elk within the province.
The group is working on protocols with the Saskatchewan government to
import only elk involved in surveillance programs for three years.
“We don’t want animals to come in not on an equivalent program,” said
Smith.
She noted elk producers are in desperate circumstances, unable to turn
animals onto marginal crops because elk must be contained behind
eight-foot fences.
The association does not condone elk release but it also recognizes
recent government aid packages will not cover the cost of sufficient
feed, Smith said. She encouraged producers to contact the group for
help in finding feed or pastures.
Lind acknowledged the stresses faced by the elk industry and suggested
producers lobby for more compensation from government.
“All we can do is try to encourage them to not do something
irrational,” said Lind.
The department said there are no investigations or confirmed cases of
captive elk being turned loose in the wild.
