Concerns

 

Animals that have evolved in dispersed populations are especially susceptible to disease when kept in close proximity. Many of these diseases are transmissible to traditional livestock and to wild animals across fences, through flowing streams and through escaped animals. Although scientific and economic evidence indicated that game farming would have a negative impact on wildlife, would not be economically viable and would require government subsidization, the Alberta government legalized game farming in 1987 without a public review and without environmental or economic impact assessments.

In recent years, Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) has generated tremendous media attention and public concern surrounding the game farm industry. CWD is a transmissible spongiform encephalitis (TSE) of elk and deer, and is caused by a variant prion similar to that of the devastating Mad Cow disease (bovine spongiform encephalopathy). CWD is generally transmitted through body fluids, though research has indicated that prions may enter soil from diseased live animals and be preserved in soils. Currently, CWD is not able to transmit across species barriers, but both in-vitro and in-vivo experiments indicate that, while unlikely, transmission of CWD to humans may be possible.

CWD was first found on several elk farms in Saskatchewan in 2001. Following this, 7,500 elk, 100 bison, 250 cattle and 50 white-tailed deer were destroyed. This cost at least $20 million in taxpayer compensation for destroyed animals, and more for cleanup and carcass disposal. The first case of CWD in Alberta was found in March 2002 on a farm in northern Alberta (Thomas, 2002). Since September 1, 2010 the Alberta government has tested nearly 4200 heads through their hunter surveillance program, and detected sixteen (0.4%) new cases of CWD in wild deer in Alberta. These statistics are unsettling and indicate that in Alberta, we are no closer to resolving this problem.

 Map 1. CWD-infected wild cervid populations,August 2008 (Chronic Wasting Disease Alliance)

 

  Map 2.CWD-infected wild cervid populations,March 2011 (Chronic Wasting Disease Alliance)

Both currently and in the recent past, some Alberta game farm lobby groups have sought the authorization of penned “hunting” farms in order to diversify the economic opportunities available to those within the industry. The establishment of such operations has been actively opposed nationally by fish and game associations, farmers and ranchers, animal rights activists, conservationists, government officials, and concerned citizens. Advocates of this practice have suggested it as a way to maintain control of biological diversity and viability, through the creation of controlled environments for hunting to take place, as a way to discourage poaching, and as a way for disabled persons to hunt and to teach children how to hunt. In fact, the sole reason for offering this service is for profit.