B.C government rolls out chronic wasting disease response plan
Global News
The B.C. government has implemented mandatory testing for deer killed in a part of the province where a troubling new disease has surfaced.
The B.C. government has implemented mandatory testing for deer killed in a part of the province where a troubling new disease has surfaced.
Chronic wasting disease is a fatal and infectious disease found in the deer family.
The disease was discovered on Jan. 31, in the Kootenay region, south of Cranbrook.
The mandatory testing and restrictions on the transport and disposal of any road-killed deer, moose, elk and caribou will cover an area south of and including Highway 3.
The provincial wildlife veterinarian is leading the surveillance and response plan from the province.
They will be joined with support from the chronic wasting disease advisory committee and other regional working groups in an effort to lessen the risk of disease spread.
Currently, there have been no cases of the disease detected in humans but Health Canada and the World Health Organization, recommend people not eat animals infected with the disease.
You can find out more about the disease and the mandatory testing process at the B.C. government’s chronic wasting disease website.
