Manitoba cattle producers have demanded greater efforts to detect and eliminate tuberculosis in elk and other wildlife that can become infected with the disease.
Their calls for action were heightened by reports this fall that another elk just outside Riding Mountain National Park had tested positive for bovine tuberculosis. A hunter shot the elk last January near Onanole, Man.
It was the third elk confirmed to have bovine TB in the park area since 1991.
At the annual meeting of the Manitoba Cattle Producers Association held two weeks ago, delegates wondered why wild elk herds are
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exempt from the strict protocols used to keep Canadian cattle free of the
disease.
They suggested more rigorous testing on elk herds where the disease surfaces. The testing would help identify and eliminate any elk carrying bovine TB.
“Maybe the problem isn’t widespread,” said delegate Garry Hill, who farms near Langruth, Man.
“It may be in hot spots.”
Manitoba’s conservation department said efforts are under way to find an appropriate elk herd size at the park. The provincial department and Parks Canada share responsibility for wildlife management in and around the park.
The management plan may include reducing the herd size through increased hunting.
The latest case of an elk with bovine TB prompted testing of 29 cattle herds on the southern flank of the park. Twenty herds had been tested as of last week and no cattle had tested positive, said George Luterbach of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
Cattle herds were also tested after it was confirmed that an elk found dead in the park last year had the disease. Bison and farmed elk were among the 21 herds examined.
During the cattle producers’ annual meeting, the association decided to lobby the province and Ottawa for a program to control and eradicate tuberculosis in wildlife in Manitoba.
They also want a reduction of the elk herd “to a manageable level.”
It is not yet known whether cattle get the disease from elk or vice versa.
