The Saskatchewan government has identified several issues to be resolved to allow game farming to expand without risking wildlife populations.
The agriculture and environment departments have released a proposed policy on game farms and will spend the next two months consulting farmers and organizations.
“Because of the rapid expansion of the game farm industry, we have to be certain that all parties are at ease with the changes,” agriculture minister Eric Upshall said in an interview. “We’re going to have everyone know exactly what’s going on.”
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He said regulations between the two departments need to be co-ordinated.
One example is the escape of game farm animals into the wild. Upshall said the agriculture department’s Stray Animals Act should be amended to include these animals.
If a wild animal gets into a game farm, the policy document proposes that the farmer be allowed to live trap the animal, and report the incident to the environment department.
Another proposal states that wildlife could not be captured to stock game farms, but acknowledges that orphaned fawns could be made available to these farms.
