Manitoba Beef Producers lobbying province for cattle safety

Manitoba beef producers want an accurate count of deer and elk populations due to the concern of possible tuberculosis outbreaks. Harrison Shin

An organization representing beef producers in Manitoba is pushing for action to be taken amid surging elk and deer populations.

Matthew Atkinson, a Neepawa area cattle producer, says the local elk population is growing rapidly.

“We get a lot of (elk population), especially the big herds of elk and once those herds get pretty large – they can do an awful lot of damage in a short amount of time,” he said.

Examples of damage include broken fences, pasture and feeds, according to Atkinson.

“There’s not much feed readily available when we have the snow on the ground in this wonderful cold weather. That’s when they tend to herd up in bigger groups and find an easy food source.”

He said the group can have around 300 elk.

“A few hundred elk – it’s the same as feeding a few hundred cows … so they can go through a lot of feed.”

In February, delegates of the Manitoba Beef Producers passed a resolution at their annual general meeting, to continue lobbying the province for actions such as an accurate count of elk and deer populations, and financial assistance for fencing and feed damage.

Carson Callum, CEO of the organization, says the population increase can impact the biosecurity of a farm, adding additional disease pressure for producers.

“(Deer and elk) can bring disease with them, they are just like any other mammal – they can be a vector of that disease. Diseases like tuberculosis have caused issues for many years in the beef industry,” Callum said.

“I think tuberculosis is one of the biggest issues right now because we saw a major outbreak where we had an eradication zone years ago in the Riding Mountain area.”

In a statement, a provincial ministerial spokesperson said the Wildlife Damage Compensation Program supports producers.

“We have delivered over $10 million in support to producers last year for crop damage and feed losses caused by big game, including elk,” the statement read in part.

“This program remains an important tool to help farmers manage the impacts of wildlife on their operations. Our government is actively reviewing population data, fencing needs, and compensation tools to ensure our programs remain responsive.

“We will continue to work with producers and wildlife experts to strengthen prevention, and ensure producers have practical, effective options to protect their feed and their livelihoods.”

Callum said there isn’t a single perfect solution for this issue.

“We’re dealing with wildlife. There is a lot of complications … dealing with a live animal, which is the beef animal, but we really need to address it with various strategies.”