KAWARTHA LAKES-An Elk shot and killed in the Lindsay area in October did not have Chronic Wasting Disease.
“Following the dispatch of an escaped farmed elk in the Lindsay area in early October, MNRF submitted a tissue sample to be tested for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). MNRF recently received the results, which were negative. The farmed elk did not have CWD.”
Jolanta Kowalski Sr. Media Relations Officer | Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry told Kawartha 411 News today after our inquiries.
The Elk was shot and killed in October after officials cited CWD as one of their concerns. The animal had escaped from a farm near Newcastle and could not be caught.
At the time the Ministry said staff had to intervene for a variety of reasons. “The ministry advised the farmer of their legal obligations to recapture the escaped farmed elk, however after monitoring the situation staff determined that intervention was required for many reasons.” said Nicole Michalchuk, Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry told Kawartha 411. “The reasons included significant concerns that the animal would move to the northeast and interact with a wild elk herd near Bancroft, which could have impacted the health of that wild population; possible impact to the local white-tailed deer population; and concerns of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) given the recent case found in farmed deer in Quebec.”
Many residents in the area were upset with the killing of the animal. “This happened right in front of my home and I watched how things unfolded.” Eileen Sims told Kawartha 411. ” I was shocked at how the situation was handled. The outcome could have had a positive ending if the MNR did their job dealing with the owner and rescue efforts.”
Chronic Wasting Disease is a progressive, fatal nervous system disease known to naturally infect white-tailed deer, mule deer, moose, elk and reindeer. CWD belongs to the family of diseases known as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs), or prion disease. Though it shares features with other TSEs, such as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in cattle and scrapie in sheep, it is a distinct disease only known at this time to naturally affect members of the deer (cervid) family.
