Canadian ranchers are seeking government relief following an outbreak of bovine tuberculosis that has already led to the destruction of more than 1,200 head of cattle and the mandatory quarantine of 22,000 more from 36 cattle ranches in southern Alberta and Saskatchewan.
“We need some help here,” Albertan rancher Brad Osadczuk told The Calgary Herald newspaper in a story published Nov. 21. “Having these cattle quarantined and not selling them is costing me literally thousands of dollars per day.”
To date, livestock from 36 Canadian ranches, 32 in Alberta and four in Saskatchewan, have been quarantined following confirmation in September that a single Canadian cow tested positive for bovine tuberculosis at a feedlot in the United States. Since then five more Canadian beef cows have tested positive for the disease.
Bovine tuberculosis is a highly contagious bacterial infection that is spread primarily through airborne particles of contaminated saliva. Cattle contained within close quarters, such as feedlots and barns are at greatest risk for infection.
While bovine TB primarily affects cattle, the disease can be spread to any warm-blooded animal, including humans. According to the U.S. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, the risk bovine TB poses to human health is small, with the greatest concern focused on the consumption of milk from infected dairy cattle.
This most recent outbreak has been traced back to the Osadczuk Ranch near Jenner, Alberta, roughly 155 miles east of Calgary. According to the Calgary Herald, Osadczuk learned Sept. 22 that one of his cows had tested positive for bovine TB. Since then, every domestic animal associated with the Osadczuk ranch have been destroyed – including horses, cats and dogs.
“They are destroying everything that makes us money and it’s going to take years to build that back up,” Osadczuk told the Canadian Global News. “They’ve put a halt on any cattle movement, sales or anything – on or off our ranch.”
Canadian law does provide for fair market value compensation for all animals destroyed as a result of a Canadian Food Inspection Agency order, but does not pay the cost of quarantine or compensate ranchers for their inability to sell calves as the result of a quarantine.
“There is no compensation for a loss of business,” Osadczuk told the paper. “We can’t fulfill anything with the banks. We owe thousands of dollars and we are paying interest every day on these operating loans and we can’t sell.”
Earlier this week federal and provincial governments in Canada announced they are considering providing disaster relief funding to ranchers who can’t sell their quarantined cattle due to the discovery of a case of bovine tuberculosis in southeast Alberta.
Osadczuk said the CFIA hasn’t told him when the rest of his herd will be taken or when the quarantine will be lifted.
“I can’t even get the CFIA to return my calls these days,” he said in an interview with the Herald. “You’re left with empty fields and no idea when you’ll ever be allowed to put a cow back on your place. I’m not sure what I’m going to do. I guess I’ll have to go out and get a job off the ranch.”
Alberta ranchers suspect the disease’s origin could lie with infected elk transported into the area in the late 1990s – though Canadian wildlife biologists argue there is no evidence to support that claim.
The quarantine has now been extended to all Canadian cattle that may have come in contact with the Osadczuk herd.
As of Nov. 28 U.S. import officials have made no moves to restrict the flow of Canadian livestock across the U.S. border. APHIS officials did not immediately respond to a Tribune request for additional information.
Source: Great Fall Tribune
