Chronic wasting disease in wild elk found in Saskatchewan
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Karen Martin
Posted: Mon May 19, 2008 4:30 p.m. Post subject: Chronic wasting disease in wild elk found in Saskatchewan
Date: 15 May 2008
Chronic wasting disease in wild elk found in Saskatchewan
"We want to understand the significance of it before we take any radical action," said Rick Ashton, director of resource allocation at the fish and wildlife branch of the ministry. "They were found in an area highly infected with CWD in white-tailed deer. It's just another species. It's not a significant event at this point."
That's not how the Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation (SWF) views it. "These are the 1st cases in wild elk. It's out there now, so how long before it moves into even more species," said SWF executive director Darrell Crabbe. "We know moose can contract the disease and there's a good possibility from there it could jump to caribou." The elk were both female cows, aged 1-1/2 and 3-1/2 years. The younger one was found dead in a pea field near a road and exhibited severe trauma consistent with being hit by a vehicle. The older animal was found in a field and appeared to have been dead for 3 or 4 days, according to the government. Only the head of the latter was submitted, so confirmation of the cause of death was not possible. Although both animals tested positive for CWD, it was believed they were in the early stages of the disease and did not die from that, the announcement states. The disease is a form of transmissible spongiform encephalopathy, attacking the brains and nervous systems of cervid (deer family) animals. The Ministry of Environment is planning to meet with a CWD committee -- comprised of wildlife groups, hunter organizations, stock growers, rural municipalities and First Nations -- to discuss the findings and develop a management plan. The SWF doesn't have a lot of faith in the government management policies. An inventory program intended to monitor the number of animals in game farms is "a joke," said Crabbe, who blames game farms for CWD in the province by setting less valuable animals in the wild. Hunt farms bring in a lot of money for farmers and ranchers who have suffered from reduced incomes during the years. Wealthy hunters from the United States will pay thousands of dollars for a day's hunt, and they want to return with something to show for it, said Crabbe, who is skeptical the diseased Saskatchewan elk were wild animals. "I find it very coincidental, too coincidental, to find 2 cows, so close in age, both testing positive in that area," he said, noting cows are less valuable than elk bulls to hunters. The ministry's wildlife disease specialist, Dr Yeen Ten Hwang, said there is no evidence the elk were originally domestic. "There were no ear tags and the pathologist saw no hair loss or ripping where the tags might have been," she said. Asked why the findings weren't publicized to the media, she said, "I don't know. We've had a lot of CWD in the deer and it was only a matter of time until it was transferred to elk. We sort of expected it." The 1st cases of CWD in Canada were traced to a Lloydminster-area farm that imported animals from South Dakota in the 1980s. How CWD is transmitted is not yet completely understood, though it is believed to occur if animals are in close proximity, likely through the saliva, feces or urine. An outbreak of CWD in the 1990s devastated the herds and livelihoods of many producers. There is no way to confirm the presence of the disease until the brain can be examined. As a result, tens of thousands of animals have been killed to contain the spread of CWD. The vast majority have tested negative. "We certainly weren't trying to keep it quiet," Ashton said of the dead elk. "We let the important folks who needed to know about it know. We did suppress it until we could tell our key and critical stakeholders because if something like this gets out, it will spread fast and it is important to carefully manage our communications. Then we put it on the website, which is very public."
[byline: Darren Bernhardt
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[Saskatchewan has CWD in farmed elk, farmed deer and wild deer, but it has not had cases in wild elk before now. The article states that the elk were found in an area where wild deer have been diagnosed with CWD. The article states that hunt clubs bring in a lot of money. It is probable an infected deer may have been shot in the area and then field dressed. Certain portions of the gastrointestinal tract have been found to contain the prion agent. If an infected deer was field dressed and the gut pile left out then it would be a source of prion for elk or other deer who might eat it. - Mod.TG
A map of the province of Saskatchewan, Canada, may be seen at
http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/maps/reference/provincesterritories/saskatchewan/referencemap_image_view
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Monday, May 19, 2008