[Dean2]

Originally Posted by IronNoggin

It didn't.

Cheers,
Nog

So how do we know this for sure. There are an awful lot of Elk running around Alberta and Sask that are released or escapees of game farms. It is also where the wild hog problem came from. Game farm animals are responsible for CWD, though no one will officially admit that, BSE, Blue Tongue now being in Canada from imported Elk, TB resurgence and a lot of other not good things. There are also significant genetic changes due to escaped animals. To believe that a genetically western Canadian Elk, from wild stock produced that rack makes me more than just a little suspicious.

Backgrounder: tuberculosis and game farms

Mon, 30 Oct 2000 by Darrel Rowledge "The facts about Canada's Tb epidemic on game farms Certain individuals and organizations have been attempting to dismiss or deny Canada's disastrous experience with diseases on game farms. Such attempts are not just factually wrong; given the seriousness of this issue, they are utterly unethical. The facts and documentation for the Tb epidemic on game farms in
As have other countries, Canada spent millions of dollars throughout the 20th century, trying to rid our country of Tb. This effort was not just an attempt to protect animals from disease; analysis by Agriculture Canada had determined that Tb-free status would be worth $1 billion over 20 years to Canadian agriculture (Government of Canada Federal Environmental Assessment Review Office report "Northern Diseased Bison," 1990, p 8).
Canada's efforts and considerable expenditures on eradication programs had succeeded to a point where we were, finally, to achieve that precious disease free status in 1992. Unfortunately, and against the advice of virtually all of our wildlife scientists, Canadian provinces had begun legalizing and developing game ranching in the mid 1980s. It took less than five years for the scientists' predictions to be realized: A massive outbreak of Tb on game farms across the country in the early1990s destroyed Canada's opportunity for Tb-free status.
Agriculture Canada, who had been supporting the development of game farms, were eventually forced to admit the problem: "The outbreak of bovine tuberculosis in Alberta's elk and deer farms in 1990 heightened concern over the transmission and spread of this disease... approximately 3,000 animals were destroyed." "There is also concern that human health is threatened, particularly by the handling of tuberculosis-contaminated animals and animal products. As a result of the bovine tuberculosis outbreak (on game farms) in Alberta... 45 out of 500 people tested positive." (Quotes by Dr. E. Broughton, Food and Inspection Branch, Agriculture Canada, appearing in a government produced Study of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's Environmental Decision Making Relating to Alternative Livestock Farming, July 1994. p 5)
The Tb outbreak was not at all restricted to Alberta. Game farms in BC, Saskatchewan, and Ontario were also infected (ibid). At a meeting in an Ontario community, organized by Member of Parliament John Cole, and attended by experts >from Agriculture Canada, it was explained to the public, the media, and more than 80 concerned dairy farmers that (like the massive epidemic on game farms in Alberta), Tb had (again) been found on game farms in Ontario, and that Ag Canada was forced to (another) massive and very expensive eradication (one of the game farmers received close to $1 million dollars for his 500 animals) (Dec. 31, 1991 Bradford West Gwillimbury Today).
With more 50% of the deer in some herds showing signs of Tb, Ag Canada explained that they would be testing dairy and cattle herds within a 10 km radius, and they acknowledged that they had already had repeated suspicious (positive) tests in dairy herds in the area (ibid).
One of the experts/spokesman from Agriculture Canada, "Dr. Wilson explained to the farmers that it had been the hope of Agriculture Canada to declare Canada free of Tb in 1992 but the outbreaks of Tb in the deer herds had put this back." (ibid)
Dr. Wilson was certainly not the only one admitting that Canada had lost the chance for Tb-free status: In a personal letter to me October 19, 1993, Canada's current Prime Minister Jean Chretin wrote:
"Game farming can contribute to the spread of diseases and parasites, posing a threat to human health as well as to other wildlife and livestock. We cannot ignore the economic impact these infections have already had. Clearly, Canada's efforts to achieve TB-free status " which would have been of great economic benefit to our agricultural sector " have been hindered. Some $15 million has been spent to compensate farmers for the destruction of animals exposed to infected animals. This potential spread of diseases and parasites concerns us on both agricultural and ecological grounds."
Dr. Anne Fanning, Director of Alberta's Tb clinic, documented what stands as the most serious transmission of bovine Tb to people in our history "from game farm elk to families, vets, technicians, and abattoir workers. Of 394 People tested because of potential contact with game farm elk, 81 tested positive. After analysis and further testing, treatment was recommended for 42 individuals. (See Fanning, A. and Edwards, S. 1991. "Mycobacterium bovis in human beings in contact with elk in Alberta, Canada." The Lancet 338: 253’Ä"1255)
Unfortunately, (and again as had been predicted) numerous animals "several deer and at least 20 elk" had escaped from infected/quarantined game farms, and because of the now-obvious danger of transmission to people, Alberta's Director of Wildlife issued a warning to Alberta hunters that if they happened to shoot an animal with an ear tag, do NOT even touch it! (Release by the Government of Alberta, reported in all the major media, August 26, 1991)
The simple truth is that anyone even remotely interested in facts would have found volumes of published articles, news accounts, and documentation within scientific journals. In their book "Wildlife Conservation Policy," (Detselig Enterprises Ltd. 1995.) world renowned wildlife experts Valerius Geist and Ian McTaggart-Cowan, document the inevitable disease problems associated with domesticating wildlife. Their, and other, evidence shows that many of the diseases and parasites are even more serious than Tb. Since they published this book, one of the diseases cited, transmissible spongiform ecephalopathy’Ä"the same family as mad cow disease "has been confirmed on several game farms, including for the first time in Montana. There are no live tests for this always-fatal disease, and while potential for transmission to people is unknown, Europe has now confirmed 75 human deaths from TSE traced to their mad cow epidemic (USDA executive news, 08/04/00 citing a report in the medical journal The Lancet).
Significantly, the article "Going For Their Brass Ring," which cited many of the above facts was published in the fall of 1999 in Game Warden, a magazine by Alberta Wildlife Officers that goes (among other places) to every elected official and every judge in Alberta. Alberta's Minister of Environment personally responded in the following issue, and it is noteworthy that neither he, nor his pro game farming government even attempted to challenge ANY of the facts. Moreover, the Minister's response was limited to saying that, despite the industry lobby, the government could not allow penned shoots in Alberta because the public did not support it.That point speaks volumes, because neither the game farming industry, nor the governments that have allowed it, can even remotely defend the products, much less the damage. All of the tragic costs and consequences of game farming "diseases, parasites, genetic pollution, habitat loss, the utter destruction of our system of conservation, and the threats to agriculture" are being forced on the public and our wildlife, so that a few individuals can brutally amputate velvet for aphrodisiacs, and provide live targets for penned shoots.
The above are facts, matters of record, and documented science. I would, however, ask to conclude with a question that seems to be going unasked: If we are willing to turn our back on the greatest conservation success in the history of the planet so that a few people can make money selling aphrodisiacs and penned shoots, just what do we have that is not for sale?"