A Saskatchewan outfitter is offering to take elk that producers can no
longer afford to feed.
Chris Switzer has already received 25 cows and calves from two
different herds in Saskatchewan and has been offered another 100. He is
expecting more in coming months, as winter sets in and feed stocks
dwindle.
They will join the 40 buffalo and elk on his seven-year-old
Saskatchewan hunt farm west of Swan River, Man.
He said the 25 elk belonged to an investor who can’t afford to board
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them.
“For a herd of 100, that’s $200 a day,” he said.
Switzer, whose region has ample feed and good pastures, said most of
the animals and phone calls are coming from drought affected areas.
He has been heckled by some since he placed a newspaper advertisement
offering free pickup of elk in Saskatchewan from producers wishing to
give them away. But Switzer said he is the only option for some people
needing to cull their elk herds.
“It’s a good thing for people who can’t afford to keep them. It’s
better than letting them go into the wild or shooting them,” he said.
Drought and chronic wasting disease in Saskatchewan and Alberta have
reduced elk prices and markets.
As a former cattle producer, Switzer said livestock markets are
cyclical and money is made and lost in all animals raised, including
elk.
“It’s way better to cut your losses and move on.”
Switzer said CWD has not affected his business, now moving into its
busiest months in September and October.
Hunters take meat home with them from slaughtered elk, while Switzer
submits the elk heads to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency for
mandatory CWD testing.
