SASKATOON – Experts say it may not be possible to eliminate chronic wasting disease in deer and elk in Canada.
The fatal infectious disease is so well established in Saskatchewan and Alberta that the federal government and some provinces are rethinking how to deal with CWD.
In 2005 Ottawa announced a National Chronic Wasting Disease Control Strategy in the hope of finding ways to eradicate it.
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Now the emphasis is shifting more to preventing the disease from spreading, especially in the wild.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency says it’s working with the provinces and the game ranching industry to come up with a better plan, perhaps by next spring.
The CFIA says the disease is active in deer on Saskatchewan game farms.
But some scientists say the more pressing challenge is the growing number of infected wild deer and elk in Saskatchewan and Alberta that are slowing spreading CWD.
BC and Manitoba have had no confirmed cases yet, but have put up billboards on highways warning hunters not to bring in deer that have been shot in other jurisdictions.
Scientists say more research and better surveillance programs are needed to stop the spread of the disease.
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