The wild elk herd around Riding Mountain National Park will get trimmed
faster than previously planned as part of the fight against bovine
tuberculosis in Manitoba.
Manitoba Conservation will permit a greater number of elk to be taken
during the hunting season this fall and winter around the national park
in western Manitoba.
In a typical year, about 600 wild elk are shot by hunters in the park
area. Changes to hunting regulations could see as many as 1,000 elk
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killed.
“It’s a step in the right direction” said Betty Green, vice-president
of the Manitoba Cattle Producers Association.
“We’re certainly encouraging them to increase the elk harvest there.”
There’s concern that elk infected with bovine TB can spread the disease
to area cattle herds. The disease exists in the wild elk herd, at least
in low levels.
Last month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said it will require
mandatory testing of Manitoba breeding cattle and farmed bison being
exported to the U.S., beginning in mid-August. That added to the need
for tough measures to counter TB in Manitoba.
There are as many as 4,000 wild elk in and around Riding Mountain
National Park, said Ken Rebizant, a Manitoba Conservation biologist. He
said the goal over the next couple of years is to reduce that number to
about 2,500.
Green said her association wants a definite timeline established for
reducing the wild elk herd, along with an assurance of effective
strategies to make it happen.
Culling the elk herd through hunting is designed to reduce the
likelihood of deer, elk and cattle coming into contact.
Other measures, such as barrier fencing to keep elk out of hay stacks,
are also being used.
The requirement for mandatory testing of breeding cattle takes effect
Aug. 17.
Last year, more than 200,000 slaughter cattle were exported from
Manitoba into the U.S.
More than 1,100 breeding cows and bulls also went south, and there were
about 3,000 intact feeder heifers shipped to the U.S.
Manitoba producers may have to test thousands of cattle in the months
ahead if they want to continue exporting into the U.S.
However, the number of animals requiring testing would fall
considerably if an area around the park can be zoned, and the rest of
the province can regain its tuberculosis-free status.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency wants to have the zoning in place
between Oct. 1 and the end of the year.
The USDA would then be invited to review that and decide whether to
require mandatory testing only for the smaller zoned area. USDA
approval would pave the way for the rest of Manitoba to regain
tuberculosis-free status.
Ed Curlett, a USDA spokesperson, said last week that breeding
animals exported from Manitoba to other provinces will require
testing for TB before they can be exported into the U.S.
It appears the testing would be done when the animals are being
inspected and certified for export to the U.S.
Maria Koller, CFIA senior staff veterinarian, said there is still a
question about whether that requirement will extend to feeder heifers.
Until the zone is established in the Riding Mountain area, TB testing
is not needed for cattle leaving Manitoba for other provinces, Koller
said.
However, once the zone in the park area is implemented later this year,
there will be restrictions on the movement of cattle out of that zone,
even if they are to remain within Canada.
Implications are unclear for cow-calf pairs from Alberta and
Saskatchewan being boarded on farms in Manitoba because of the drought.
