A red deer herd in the Laurentians in Quebec is being slaughtered because of chronic wasting disease.
It’s the first case in Eastern Canada. It is also believed to be the largest herd of farmed deer in Canada and the United States at 3,200 head on about 500 hectares of woods and rough land.
It is owned by Cerf de Boileau which is a subsidiary of Harpur Farms LLC.
The slow-moving disease is similar to mad cow’s disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in cattle and Kreutzfedlt Jakob Disease in humans.
But a spokesman for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said there has never been a case of chronic wasting disease of cervids crossing over to cattle or sheep.
The Quebec case began in August when provincial officials detected the disease in a deer carcass.
That prompted the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to impose a quarantine on the farm.
Two more cases were detected in the herd, so the CFIA took further actions.
“These include ordering the depopulation of the affected herd, conducting trace-outs of animals from this herd to other potential establishments and ordering the cleaning and disinfection of the premises. The CFIA will also perform an epidemiologic assessment of the premises,” the spokesman said in an e-mail.
For privacy reasons, the CFIA will not reveal the owner of the herd or its precise location. An informed source told me it's the Harpur farm and Huntingdon, Que.
But the CFIA has notified the association representing deer farming and maintains close contact with provincial officials and is keeping them updated on the situation.
