EDMONTON – The combination of drought and strict government
regulations are forcing elk and deer farmers out of business, said a
group of angry farmers protesting at the Alberta legislature Aug. 1.
“The government has abandoned us,” said Len Jubinville, a white-tailed
deer producer from St. Albert who organized the rally dubbed Operation
Survival.
In a normal year, many producers would be able to live with strict
regulations that ensure the animals are killed not on the farm but at
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provincial or federally licensed abattoirs, he said.
But abattoirs across the province are full of cattle and there is a
long list before elk can be slaughtered. Even if the elk are
slaughtered, there are few markets for the meat.
Until recently elk were raised only for antlers, which were exported to
Asian markets for use as medicine. The discovery of chronic wasting
disease in Saskatchewan two years ago, and a single case in Alberta
this year, have all but closed those markets.
Last week, the Saskatchewan government closed its border to Alberta elk
going to Saskatchewan hunt farms.
“We are stuck,” Jubinville told the group.
This month, the Alberta government will decide if it will allow hunt
farms to be established in Alberta. Elk and deer producers say it’s a
good way to get rid of their older animals and a good diversification
option for rural Alberta.
Wildlife advocates say it’s a good way to spread disease among the wild
population.
Alberta premier Ralph Klein has said he is opposed to establishing hunt
farms.
Guy Bureau, an investment counsellor from Edmonton, invested more than
$100,000 of his retirement money into elk herds. He even convinced his
clients to buy $500,000 worth of elk because of the returns.
“To me, it was a good diversification with a lot of potential,” said
Bureau at the rally.
“How do I tell these people now we have a good investment? I convinced
them it was better than the stock market,” said Bureau, who said his
investment is now worthless.
John Carson, a Sherwood Park elk rancher, said he’s left with no
alternative other than to shoot the 400 elk on his farm and bury them.
“I have to make a business decision,” said Carson, who has spent
$10,000 to buy three weeks supply of hay.
“I see the only answer is to follow the government’s advice and shoot
them and bury them. With these regulations there is no future.”
In a letter to Carson on Dec. 21, agriculture minister Shirley
McClellan wrote that under the Livestock Industry Diversification Act
it is illegal for anyone to slaughter a game production animal except
at a licensed abattoir.
“If you or another producer were in the situation where the disposal of
a herd was necessary, my staff would work with you to accommodate this.
I feel it should be possible to euthanize or bury a herd under special
circumstances,” she wrote.
On July 25, Doug Milligan, director of Alberta Agriculture’s Livestock
Industry Development Sector, mailed Carson an application to slaughter
the animals on the farm.
Milligan said this was the only application to humanely destroy elk
that he has sent to producers, and he does not recommend they take that
route.
Other than selling their animals to other producers for fire sale
prices, the options are limited.
“I have quite a bit of empathy for the situation that they’re in,” said
Milligan.
He agreed elk and deer producers have few options because of the tough
regulations on confinement and slaughter.
“If they had markets for the antler and the meat, then the regulations
are quite workable,” he said.
Alberta Elk Association president Brenda Elkow said even though the
association didn’t organize the rally, she thinks raising awareness of
the issues was a good decision.
“I’m not disappointed some of the producers wanted to make their voices
heard,” said Elkow.
She said shooting the elk is not a good option.
“I don’t view it as a very good alternative. I think we have a great
future but we need some answers soon.”
