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Culling and testing needed due to CWD says BCWF
As new cases of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) are discovered, the provincial government must take new steps to contain its spread, the BC Wildlife Federation (BCWF) recently asserted in a media release.
Hundreds of samples from deer submitted by hunters in southeastern B.C. are waiting to be tested. More positive tests seem inevitable and the positives to date suggest the area around Cranbrook is becoming a hotspot.
Urban deer in communities such as Cranbrook, Creston and Kimberley are at high risk to contract and spread CWD.
“City deer have a small range and relatively high density, living in close quarters with frequent contact, which makes them a perfect vector for disease,” said BCWF Executive Director Jesse Zeman. “Because deer may contract the disease but remain symptom-free for months or years, urban deer pose a high risk of dispersing the pathogen.”
Young bucks may contract the disease and then leave the area seeking mates and uncontested range.
An aggressive program to test and reduce urban deer populations is essential to curtail the spread of CWD, the BCWF concluded.
e-KNOW file photo
e-KNOW
