The death of several dozen deer at a Saskatchewan ranch earlier this month remains a mystery.
“We still think that it’s related to their feed, but so far there is no confirmation as to cause of death,” said Brendan O’Connor, manager of pathology with Prairie Diagnostic Services.
He added it could take “considerable time” to find the answer.
Beginning May 4 and over a five day period, 35 fallow deer died suddenly at the ranch of Mike Skibinsky, at Ardath, Sask.
The deaths came shortly after the deer were fed a new ration.
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More than 300 surviving deer are no longer eating the suspect feed and are doing well, but nevertheless three more died last week, bringing the total since May 4 to 38.
Autopsies on several of the carcasses have ruled out toxins in the feed, bacterial infection or problems with trace minerals.
The fact that three animals died weeks after the initial acute outbreak suggests there may be a chronic problem, said O’Connor.
Skibinsky said last week he was told by animal health officials that many of the animals that ate the feed and survived may have developed abnormalities in the lining of their gastro-intestinal systems that could lead to problems down the road.
That uncertainty about the future of the herd, plus his frustration at dealing with animal health officials and federal bureaucrats, has Skibinsky thinking about his future.
“I’ve been in the industry for 15 years and I may not want to stay after all this. To be a farmer these days you have to have a science degree or be a lawyer.”
One piece of good news is that an investor from California who, before the deaths had talked about buying the herd of fallow deer, is still interested.
Skibinsky said the potential buyer has already sent a deposit to help buy feed for the coming year.
“It’s pretty sad that a guy has to come all the way from California to help me deal with a critical situation like this,” he said, contrasting that with what he said has been a lack of assistance from Canadian officials.
Canadian Food Inspection Agency staff visited Skibinsky’s ranch shortly after the dead deer were discovered and took samples of the feed for testing.
An agency spokesperson said the feed was analyzed to ensure there were no ingredients prohibited under the federal Feeds Act.
“Once it was determined there were no problems with it, the feed was released,” she said, adding that other producers needn’t be concerned about their feed.
“There are no issues from a larger feed or animal health perspective. It’s an isolated, unfortunate incident.”
Skibinsky had harsh words for the CFIA, saying it did nothing to help him.
“It’s a big bureaucracy that does nothing and isn’t held accountable,” he said, adding he feels he got “a big runaround” from the agency.
The CFIA spokesperson said the agency did its job, which was to ascertain the safety of the feed.
If the producer wants to continue to pursue the case in terms of determining the cause of death, he should do so through private labs or animal health practitioners.
Meanwhile, the remaining fallow deer, along with some elk and white-tailed deer that are not for sale, seem to be thriving. They are on fresh pasture and also eating a limited amount of a new feed mix.
“They’re doing just fine, they look good,” Skibinsky said.
He rejected a suggestion that the deaths were the result of too much high energy grain in the deer’s diet.
Skibinsky said he never fed corn or any other grain to the deer, and if anything he was “under graining” his animals.
