Should deer farming be abolished to halt chronic wasting disease? - Action News
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Should deer farming be abolished to halt chronic wasting disease?

Despite ongoing calls from an Ontario hunting group to phase out deer farms an industry that has contributed to the spread of chronic wasting disease (CWD) some experts are doubtful it will curb theproblem.

Experts are at odds over whether phasing out the farms would curb its spread

A deer is seen against a beige background.
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a progressive, fatal disease of the nervous system of deer, elk, moose and caribou. The Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters is calling for the end to deer farming in the province in an attempt to halt its spread. (Radio-Canada)

Despite ongoing calls from an Ontario hunting group to phase out deer farms an industry that has contributed to the spread of chronic wasting disease (CWD) some experts are doubtful it will curb theproblem.

The Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters has been lobbying since the late 1990s for eliminating the farms, said Keith Munro, a biologist with the organization who specializes in white-tailed deer.

However, aCWD outbreak late last yearon a farm in Grenville-sur-la-Rouge, Que.,has only exacerbated the federation's concerns.

"Rather thantrying to fixall the little problems, the realeffective solution is to phase out the industry," Munro recently told Radio-Canada.

"CWD is one of the greatest threats to wildlife health that we have right now. It's an incurable, 100 per cent fatal disease thataffects all members of the deer family."

On this map, updated in December 2019, the yellow dots represent farms affected by CWD where animals have been killed; the red dots represent farms where animals are still present; the grey areas represent areas where the disease has been detected in wild populations; and the darkest areas represent areas where the disease was detected in wild populations prior to 2000. (U.S. Geological Survey National Wildlife Health Center)

An imperfect solution

The OFAH has proposed to phase out farms over a five-year period, with farmers receiving financial compensation.

While that could reduce the potential for the "movement of infectious agents," it wouldn't help eliminate CWD in areas where it's already appeared in the wild population, said biologist Bryan Richards.

"Phasing out deer farms would not impact the disease on the ground where it exists today," said Richards, who works with the USGS National Wildlife Health Center, the U.S. government agency that tracks outbreaks in North America.

I'm not sure at this point that phasing out the farms in areas where CWD is already present is going to help.- Debbie McKenzie

Debbie McKenzie, an associate professor of biology at the University of Alberta, has studied CWD for almost 17 years and agreeswith her American colleague.

McKenzie said there are many cases where farmed and wild deer are in "close contact," and fences won't prevent the spread of the disease.

"I'm not sure at this point that phasing out the farms in areas where CWD is already present is going to help," McKenzie said.

After CWD was discovered in Grenville-sur-la-Rouge, only 15 kilometres from the Ontario border, the Ministry of Natural Resources stepped up surveillance efforts and urged hunters to drop off samples of wild deer they'd shot and killedfor analysis.

Munrosaid that out of roughly 13,000 wild deer submitted by hunters, however, none have tested positive for CWD.

Keith Munro says that the best way to stop the spread of the '100 per cent fatal' disease is to eliminate deer farms in Ontario. (Submitted by Keith Munro/OFAH)

The nearly invisible disease

CWD has been found in three Canadian provinces Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Quebec as well as26 U.S. states,South Korea, Norway, Sweden and Finland.

On top of itbeing a fatal disease that attacks all species of deer, it's also virtually undetectable in a live animal until it's too late.

"An animal that got infected with CWD today would not show clinical signs of disease ... for maybe 18 to 20 months," Richards said.

Long before symptoms show up, an animal infected with CWD can still spread it within three months after contracting the disease, Richards said.

The only way to detect CWD beyond a doubt is to kill a deer and test brain tissue or lymph nodes.

Two deer graze in the snow.
Chronic wasting disease is not only fatal to deer, but it also can't be detected until after the animal has already died. (Mitchell Kincaid Cook)

Strict supervision necessary

While there's no consensus on whether farms should be eliminated,specialistsagree it'sessential to properly supervise the transport of deer.

Munro said it's better to focus protection efforts on the wild herd, given the economic weight of the hunting industry in Ontario, where there are more than 600 moose and deer hunting businesses.

Unlike the OFAH, the Fdration qubcoise des chasseurs et pcheurs is not opposed to deer farming, even though the disease was first detected in the Outaouais.

In Quebec, deerfarmers are subject to many strict regulations on the importation, identification, monitoring and testing of their animals areas where the OFAH would like to see reforms in Ontario.

The province has recently developed a surveillance and response plan that includes "restrictions on the export of certain animals from jurisdictions where [CWD] has been detected," according to a news release from the Ministry of Natural Resources.

Abolishing the farms is not the only solution put forward by the OFAH: Munro also advocates for better public education and testing of all farmed animals sent for slaughter in Ontario.

With files from Dominique Degr