Manitoba elk growers were dismayed last week when the provincial
government put the brakes on plans to allow the import of farmed elk.
A protocol allowing the import of farmed elk from outside the province
has been in place since January, and elk growers were keen to use it to
bring in new genetics for their herds.
But the province announced it was putting the protocol on hold, citing
concerns about diseased animals being allowed into the province.
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“Quite a few people raised the issue of chronic wasting disease with
us,” said Don Zasada, Manitoba Agriculture deputy minister.
The disease has been devastating for elk growers in Saskatchewan in
recent years. The risk of bringing infected animals into Manitoba was
deemed too great, Zasada said.
The Manitoba Wildlife Federation was among the groups raising that
concern.
Manitoba elk growers said last week’s decision reinforces their belief
that at least some officials in the province’s conservation department
are determined to undermine elk farming in Manitoba.
The Manitoba government has already made it clear that it will not
allow the hunting of farmed elk, which could be an added source of
revenue for producers.
“The government officials are listening to people who are bound and
determined there is going to be no elk farming in Manitoba,” said Merv
Farmer, a past-president of the Manitoba Elk Growers Association.
He said the industry spent three years working with government
officials to develop the new import protocol.
The decision to put the protocol on hold was made without consulting
elk growers, he said.
“We are disappointed at the way this was done. We get it through and
then all of a sudden they say it’s not good enough.”
Farmer said elk growers now want to meet with the province’s
agriculture and conservation ministers to find out where they go from
here.
Manitoba has had a ban on the import of game-farmed elk since 1998. The
ban was implemented after a case of chronic wasting disease was found
in a Saskatchewan farmed elk.
The disease attacks the brain and nervous system of animals in the deer
family. There is no treatment available.
Regulations remain in place that allow Manitoba elk growers to export
their animals to the United States and to a number of provinces in
Canada.
In the U.S., North Dakota is the only state that will not accept elk
from Manitoba, said Farmer. That’s because of the presence of bovine
tuberculosis in wild elk herds at Riding Mountain National Park, on the
west side of the province.
