scooter
03-16-2009, 03:17 PM
Elk import surprises group
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More elk shipped into the Yukon has caught the eye and the concern of the Yukon Fish and Game Association. Association president Paul Jacobs said the organization is looking into the situation more closely since learning just recently that the Yukon government authorized the import of game farm elk from Alberta last year. Any animals imported into the Yukon must provide proof and clean health.
But history shows that transportation of animals affected with the chronic wasting disease has been responsible for the spread of the deadly and ugly disease that already has a hold on the wild deer and elk populations on the prairies, Jacobs pointed out.
Furthermore, he understands, there are no tests available on live elk that will provide 100 per cent certainty the animal is free of CWD.
Jacobs explained the only way to tell for sure is to kill the animal and send its head to a lab for testing. "We view chronic wasting disease as . . . it's extremely bad," he said. "This is one thing we do not want up here, chronic wasting disease, and we believe we should take as many precautions as possible not to have it spread here."
Jacobs said longtime members of the board were certain the government promised a moratorium on importing elk several years ago. Nancy Campbell, an information officer with Environment Yukon, said this morning records show there was a permit to import up to eight game farm elk issued for the fiscal 2007-08 year. As far as she knows, all eight arrived.
It was the first import of elk since 1998, she said.
Campbell said there is no record of any moratorium on importing elk. There is another import application pending, though it wasn't clear for what type of animal, she said.
Environment Yukon issues a variety of import permits, such as the permit issued last year for a transport truck carrying 54 bison passing through the Yukon without any stops.
There were also two import permits issued in this fiscal year for stone sheep taking up residence at the Yukon Wilderness Preserve, and another three issued in 2007-08 for three hybrid wolves in here temporarily for a film project.
Jacobs suggested importation of game farm elk is another matter altogether.
A few years ago, he said, the 750-member association was pressing the Yukon government to bring in legislation forcing game farmers to provide double fencing around their animal enclosures. Double fencing is a means of ensuring no face-to-face contact between wild and game farm animals, including elk, Jacobs said.
He said it also ensures if an elk or other animal jumps the first fence, there's no room to gather enough speed to jump the second fence. A large wild bull elk rounded up as part of the winter tick control program last year jumped out the capture enclosure made of game farm fence, Jacobs pointed out.
The fish and game association, Jacobs emphasized, only gave up its push for double fencing when the government promised its moratorium on importing elk.
Board members decided at their meeting Wednesday night to gather more information before charting an official course of action or position, as they are divided on the matter.
There are those who feel importing elk should not be allowed, and those who see it as a legitimate and safe business venture for commercial meat sales if the proper precautions are taken.
Before any elk are imported into the Yukon, legislation requires paperwork showing they've received a medical check-up and a clean bill of health from a qualified veterinarian.
In the case of the eight elk, government officials told the association they were taken to a local game farm, "quarantined and immediately slaughtered" for commercial meat sales.
Jacobs said he is comforted somewhat by the fact that they were immediately quarantined and killed. And they did come from Alberta, where there has been no reported cases of CWD on game farms in recent years, he noted
He said CWD is present in the wild in both Alberta and Saskatchewan. Last year, he said, Saskatchewan culled 7,500 deer along the Saskatchewan-Alberta border in an attempt to control the spread of CWD.
Two elk along the Saskatchewan-Mantitoba border were confirmed as carriers last year, Jacobs added.
He said the association's board will continue researching the situation. Jacobs pointed out the Canadian Wildlife Federation is having its annual general meeting in Whitehorse in June.
Chronic wasting disease in Canada, he said, is forever at top of the list of ongoing concerns with the federation. "This will be a major topic."
Manfred Hoefs, co-chair of the Lake Laberge Renewable Resource Council, said he and his council knew nothing of the eight elk being imported into the Yukon in 2007-08.
There are members on his council, he said, who don't like elk period. They don't like the idea of having tick-infested elk running around in the wild right now, and they wouldn't like the idea of more elk arriving here, he said.
One way or the other, he said, the renewable resource council should have been informed about plans to import more elk.
Hoefs, a former senior biologist with the Yukon government, confirmed the only way to be 100 per cent sure an animal doesn't have CWD is to kill it and send its head off to a lab for examination.
Meanwhile, the government announced new regulations last week which clear the way for the retail sale of local game farm meat after it's inspected by territorial meat inspectors. Game farmers have been forced to rely on sales at the farm gate for years.
The mobile slaughterhouse purchased by the Yukon government in 2006 was also meant to assist with the expansion of the local game farm meat business.
Elk were first transplanted into the Yukon wilderness in the 1950s, and again in the 1980s, in a joint effort between the government and the fish and game association.
The widespread infestation of winter tick on the elk was discovered in the spring of 2006.
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PUBLICATION: The Whitehorse Star
DATE: 2009.03.13
SECTION: Yukon
PAGE: 6
BYLINE: Tobin, Chuck
WORD COUNT: 851
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More elk shipped into the Yukon has caught the eye and the concern of the Yukon Fish and Game Association. Association president Paul Jacobs said the organization is looking into the situation more closely since learning just recently that the Yukon government authorized the import of game farm elk from Alberta last year. Any animals imported into the Yukon must provide proof and clean health.
But history shows that transportation of animals affected with the chronic wasting disease has been responsible for the spread of the deadly and ugly disease that already has a hold on the wild deer and elk populations on the prairies, Jacobs pointed out.
Furthermore, he understands, there are no tests available on live elk that will provide 100 per cent certainty the animal is free of CWD.
Jacobs explained the only way to tell for sure is to kill the animal and send its head to a lab for testing. "We view chronic wasting disease as . . . it's extremely bad," he said. "This is one thing we do not want up here, chronic wasting disease, and we believe we should take as many precautions as possible not to have it spread here."
Jacobs said longtime members of the board were certain the government promised a moratorium on importing elk several years ago. Nancy Campbell, an information officer with Environment Yukon, said this morning records show there was a permit to import up to eight game farm elk issued for the fiscal 2007-08 year. As far as she knows, all eight arrived.
It was the first import of elk since 1998, she said.
Campbell said there is no record of any moratorium on importing elk. There is another import application pending, though it wasn't clear for what type of animal, she said.
Environment Yukon issues a variety of import permits, such as the permit issued last year for a transport truck carrying 54 bison passing through the Yukon without any stops.
There were also two import permits issued in this fiscal year for stone sheep taking up residence at the Yukon Wilderness Preserve, and another three issued in 2007-08 for three hybrid wolves in here temporarily for a film project.
Jacobs suggested importation of game farm elk is another matter altogether.
A few years ago, he said, the 750-member association was pressing the Yukon government to bring in legislation forcing game farmers to provide double fencing around their animal enclosures. Double fencing is a means of ensuring no face-to-face contact between wild and game farm animals, including elk, Jacobs said.
He said it also ensures if an elk or other animal jumps the first fence, there's no room to gather enough speed to jump the second fence. A large wild bull elk rounded up as part of the winter tick control program last year jumped out the capture enclosure made of game farm fence, Jacobs pointed out.
The fish and game association, Jacobs emphasized, only gave up its push for double fencing when the government promised its moratorium on importing elk.
Board members decided at their meeting Wednesday night to gather more information before charting an official course of action or position, as they are divided on the matter.
There are those who feel importing elk should not be allowed, and those who see it as a legitimate and safe business venture for commercial meat sales if the proper precautions are taken.
Before any elk are imported into the Yukon, legislation requires paperwork showing they've received a medical check-up and a clean bill of health from a qualified veterinarian.
In the case of the eight elk, government officials told the association they were taken to a local game farm, "quarantined and immediately slaughtered" for commercial meat sales.
Jacobs said he is comforted somewhat by the fact that they were immediately quarantined and killed. And they did come from Alberta, where there has been no reported cases of CWD on game farms in recent years, he noted
He said CWD is present in the wild in both Alberta and Saskatchewan. Last year, he said, Saskatchewan culled 7,500 deer along the Saskatchewan-Alberta border in an attempt to control the spread of CWD.
Two elk along the Saskatchewan-Mantitoba border were confirmed as carriers last year, Jacobs added.
He said the association's board will continue researching the situation. Jacobs pointed out the Canadian Wildlife Federation is having its annual general meeting in Whitehorse in June.
Chronic wasting disease in Canada, he said, is forever at top of the list of ongoing concerns with the federation. "This will be a major topic."
Manfred Hoefs, co-chair of the Lake Laberge Renewable Resource Council, said he and his council knew nothing of the eight elk being imported into the Yukon in 2007-08.
There are members on his council, he said, who don't like elk period. They don't like the idea of having tick-infested elk running around in the wild right now, and they wouldn't like the idea of more elk arriving here, he said.
One way or the other, he said, the renewable resource council should have been informed about plans to import more elk.
Hoefs, a former senior biologist with the Yukon government, confirmed the only way to be 100 per cent sure an animal doesn't have CWD is to kill it and send its head off to a lab for examination.
Meanwhile, the government announced new regulations last week which clear the way for the retail sale of local game farm meat after it's inspected by territorial meat inspectors. Game farmers have been forced to rely on sales at the farm gate for years.
The mobile slaughterhouse purchased by the Yukon government in 2006 was also meant to assist with the expansion of the local game farm meat business.
Elk were first transplanted into the Yukon wilderness in the 1950s, and again in the 1980s, in a joint effort between the government and the fish and game association.
The widespread infestation of winter tick on the elk was discovered in the spring of 2006.
--------------------------------------------------
PUBLICATION: The Whitehorse Star
DATE: 2009.03.13
SECTION: Yukon
PAGE: 6
BYLINE: Tobin, Chuck
WORD COUNT: 851
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