Ranchers concerned after case of bovine tuberculosis detected in Saskatchewan

Cattle ranchers in Saskatchewan were hoping to start the season on a high note, but now they are facing concerns around a serious disease.

According to Chad Ross, chair of the Saskatchewan Cattle Association, a case of bovine tuberculosis was detected in a cow late last fall in the east-central part of Saskatchewan.

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“That was traced back to a herd in east central Saskatchewan. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has been working through their due diligence since then on testing herds,” he explained.

“The testing does take time and they’ve worked with the producers in these herds since then.”

The cow that was infected did not make it into the food system, he said, and it’s not yet known how the animal contracted the disease.

“There’s different things that (veterinarians) are looking at to see where it came from,” Ross said.

Ross said town hall meetings are being arranged in the affected areas to ensure producers are up to speed about what’s going on.

“At these town halls we’re going to have the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to answer questions,” he said.

“We’re going to have the chief veterinary officers to answer questions on the animal health side.”

Ross said the main goal is to give ranchers a chance to have their questions answered.

“And we have to remember that this is very devastating for the herds that are affected, and going through this process has been very tough,” he added.

These meetings will also address the environment, because Ross said there’s a chance the case was caused by some sort of wildlife.

“We do have large wildlife herds in the province at this time,” he said. “That might be one of the places where it comes from.”

The one thing that has been made clear to everyone involved is that this isn’t an everyday strain.

“We do know that this is a very unique strain that has not been seen before,” Ross said.

With a case like this comes a lot of concern for cattle ranchers as the season begins to kick into gear, and Ross said he shares that feeling.

“It affects these families and businesses immensely,” he said. “Having this found in your herd has dramatic effects, and the base herd has had to cull their herd, and that’s just devastating.”

The Canadian Cattle Association will also be in attendance at the meetings to help determine if the ranchers whose herds have been affected by the disease will receive any compensation for the animals that had to be destroyed.

Ross said he believes more than one herd has been affected, but he didn’t know exactly how many.