End to TB testing of cattle near Riding Mountain on the horizon

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This article was published 11/02/2016 (3610 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Barring a positive test, cattle farmers near Riding Mountain National Park will finally see an end to the exhaustive, costly and often traumatic tuberculosis testing that their herds have been subjected to for years.

Veterinarian Dr. Allan Preston, who was charged with eradicating tuberculosis near Riding Mountain at the end of 2012, said the Canadian Food Inspection Agency indicated that negative tests in cattle and wildlife this season will result in the suspension of on-site testing for cattle.

“It’s very good news for the producers involved,” Preston said. “The most important thing is that this all hinges on negative results, so we’re really hoping that we get through this season with everything negative, and if we do, we will proceed to move away from live-animal testing.”

The last positive TB test in cattle came in 2008, according to Preston, while the last whitetail deer was found infected the following year.

The last elk tested positive in 2014.

Hunters are encouraged to supply carcasses for testing after harvesting an animal in the area.

Preston said one of the largest blessings in the battle to eradicate TB has been the declining elk population.

“That drop in population has contributed to the disease kind of dying out,” he said.

Preston characterized TB as a tough disease to contract. It tends to build up in large populations of animals confined to small areas. The disease is most often spread through saliva after an infected animal feeds from a source such as forage or bales, which is then eaten by other animals.

Preston — along with representatives from CFIA, Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, Parks Canada and Manitoba Beef Producers —met with cattle farmers in Rossburn on Jan. 21.

MBP general manager Melinda German said a number of producers at that meeting described the hardships the testing process has had on their herds.

“It’s very trying and traumatic for the producers and the cattle to go through the testing,” German said.

Farmers described scenes in which pregnant cows had abortions following the testing process, which requires animals to travel through a chute twice in a 72-hour time frame.

Other animals became ornery and more difficult to work with, something that adds time and cost to the bottom line of the farm.

Producers are paid $7 per animal as a mustering fee, according to German, but it’s not enough.

“The true cost of the testing is much higher,” she said.

Add in mitigation work producers undertook and the costs are even higher.

Many producers erected fences around feeding areas and purchased guard dogs in an attempt to prohibit wildlife from interacting with cattle. While some of the costs were covered through government grants, other were borne by producers.

Those efforts won’t stop if testing does end, according to German.

“It’s important as we move to this stage where we think we can declare disease freedom in the domestic herd and we’re going to be able to stop testing in the domestic herd that we remain vigilant in our mitigation measures that minimize those interactions,” she said.

German is hopeful that the testing will come to a conclusion, which could come as early as this spring; however, she pointed out that surveillance at slaughter facilities will continue to ensure Manitoba remains TB-free.

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