Town hall meetings in Saskatchewan on bovine tuberculosis

Last week, the Saskatchewan Cattle Association organized two town hall meetings in Whitewood and Yorkton to raise awareness about bovine tuberculosis (bovine TB). In November 2024, a case of the disease was detected on a farm in the province. Three months later, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) reported three more cases while testing the birth herd of an animal previously confirmed positive for bovine TB. The situation has put the farming community on high alert, and the town hall meetings were designed to provide information on the issue. The events were attended by Allison Danyluk Ross, a CFIA regional veterinary officer. She said that while Canada is considered officially free from the disease, thanks to a massive eradication program, isolated cases in livestock occur sometimes. Bovine TB is transmissible to humans, but cases are rare. Infection may occur through extended close contact with an animal with active respiratory TB or consuming raw or unpasteurized animal products from an infected animal. However, Canadian authorities do not consider the disease a public health threat due to its low prevalence.
Despite this positive note, Danyluk Ross remarked that containment of bovine TB is imperative to protect the economy and guarantee the export of Canadian beef to foreign markets. She also highlighted the procedures to test and trace cases and those for the “humane” depopulation of infected herds. Culled animals due to TB are compensated by the CFIA, though the offered sums of money have not been updated to current price cattle values. This point generated some controversy during the meetings. A few months after an infected herd is depopulated, restocking is allowed and monitored. There are two tests for the disease, the Caudal Fold Test and the Bovigam Test, but neither is 100% reliable. Therefore, the only guaranteed method of determining if an animal was infected is through an autopsy. The source of recent outbreaks remains unknown, although laboratory tests have suggested the spread of a new strain of the disease. Traces of bovine TB have also been found in wild animals in Riding Mountain National Park in Manitoba. However, Danyluk Ross pointed out that the TB strains recently found in cattle are not linked to those detected among elks and deer in the Manitoba park. Nevertheless, after the detection of bovine TB cases in cattle, those hunting elk and deer in local Wild Management Zones (WMZs) must submit heads for testing within one month of killing the animal. According to provincial wildlife health specialist Iga Stasiak, tests have denied any link with livestock infections and determined that most wild animals are free from the disease.