Federal officials have begun whole-herd exterminations as chronic wasting disease continues to spread among Saskatchewan elk farms.
About 1,500 elk are being destroyed in an attempt to stop the disease from becoming endemic. Chronic wasting disease is similar to scrapie and mad cow disease.
One farm, which may have contained infected animals for the past 10 years, may also be banned from raising elk again.
“We’re proceeding now to eliminating all of those animals,” Canadian Food Inspection Agency veterinarian George Luterbach said.
The disease, which had previously been found on five Saskatchewan farms this year, has now been detected on a sixth farm.
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Fourteen infected animals have been found in Saskatchewan.
The first discovered case of infection in the province occurred in 1996 on a Sedley farm. In 1998, a second case developed on a farm near Swift Current.
In 2000, the same Swift Current farm developed another case of chronic wasting disease. Since then five more herds have been found with infected animals.
Luterbach said the CFIA thinks it has identified the source herd on a Lloydminster area farm that is connected to all the cases through sales and animal movement.
Since that farm may be what is considered “highly contaminated,” federal officials may ban elk production there.
“We will have to consider alternate land uses,” Luterbach said.
Chronic wasting disease was first discovered in 1967 on a Colorado wildlife research farm, where a group of captive elk became infected.
The farm eventually exterminated the animals, but when newly captured animals were brought into the centre, a number developed chronic wasting disease within a few years.
Researchers believe the disease can linger in the soil and reinfect other animals.
At five of the Saskatchewan farms, which are not considered highly contagious, the topsoil from high use areas such as pens and around feeders will be stripped and the area disinfected.
The CFIA’s attempts to eradicate the disease have pleased Saskatchewan elk producers, who say it is the beginning of the end of the problem.
Hunters aren’t as confident, however. The Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation thinks the problem is bigger than the industry admits.
Monitoring wildlife
Saskatchewan’s environment department is asking hunters to turn in elk and deer heads for the next three years so its scientists can test for CWD in the wild ungulate population.
It is also asking hunters to take sick or abnormal animals to a conservation officer for inspection.
