About 800 sheep were destroyed in Manitoba and monitoring continues to prevent the spread of scrapie, a fatal disease that attacks the central nervous system of sheep and goats.
Most of the 800 sheep, which were slaughtered before Christmas, were from two flocks in southeastern Manitoba.
A few other sheep that were purchased from those flocks were also destroyed, said George Luterbach of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
“Animals that were sold to other sources are all being analyzed to indicate whether they might have the infection.”
Earlier last year, a flock near Roblin, Man., was also found to have scrapie. That flock was destroyed and the infection was traced to one of the two flocks in southeastern Manitoba.
Scrapie, a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE), is a reportable disease under the federal Health of Animals Act. It is the equivalent of BSE in cattle and chronic wasting disease in deer and elk.
The producers who owned the sheep eradicated last month are being compensated, said Luterbach. The compensation amounts to about $200 per animal.
