Cervid Industry Receives Federal Funding

Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz has announced an investment of over $1 million to the Canadian Cervid Alliance to help the cervid industry capture new market opportunities and respond to the growing consumer demand for full traceability in livestock and poultry. The Canadian Integrated Food Safety Initiative (CIFSI) is funding two projects that will help producers

Riding Mountain Wildlife Cull Will Resume

An on-again, off-again wildlife cull in Riding Mountain National Park to control tuberculosis in the herd is back on. Parks Canada will kill 30 bull elk and 50 whitetail deer in a TB core area hot spot at the western end of the park in early April, park officials said last week. The wildlife cull


Urbanizing Deer Causes Headaches For Land And Property Owners

“The deer have become completely urbanized.” – RICK PAULS, MAYOR, KILLARNEY-TURTLE MOUNTAIN Lloyd Church’s 42-acre managed woodlot near Anola is a sorry sight these days, and not from disease, insects or age. It’s the countless white-tailed deer making his stand of trees an all-you-can-eat buffet. In a half-decade, as he’s observed increasing numbers of deer

Hunters Assist In TB Eradication

Hunters are playing a significant role in the effort to eradicate bovine tuberculosis (TB) in the Riding Mountain area of southwestern Manitoba. By turning in samples of elk and white-tailed deer, they are helping wildlife managers determine where the disease is present, and more importantly, they are helping define where the disease is not. Since



TB Eradication Plan Back To Square 1

TB task force is “not functional.” – RAY ARMBRUSTER, MCPA Ayear ago, Manitoba cattle producers felt they were finally getting somewhere in their decades-long fight against tuberculosis in Riding Mountain National Park. Parks Canada had signalled a willingness to eradicate some wildlife in Riding Mountain as part of a strategic plan to help control TB


Parks Canada Proceeds With Selected Elk Cull

“Their commitment to start removing animals is really positive.” – RAY ARMBRUSTER, CHAIR OF MCPA ANIMAL HEALTH COMMITTEE. Parks Canada has begun the removal of an increased number of suspect elk and deer from an area of Riding Mountain National Park that has had the highest TB infection rates. “TB Alley” along the Birdtail River

Wolves get around

For every one they have confirmed there are probably two that they haven’t found or confirmed.” – RAY ARMBRUSTER CHAIR MCPA ANIMAL HEALTH COMMITTEE One of the 17 wolves trapped at the Sylvandale pasture north of Fisher Branch in early fall was a female that had travelled 600 kilometres north from central Minnesota. She was


Create your own recycled reindeer

Here’s a quick crafting project that will give new life to an old bulb. Materials: Christmas light bulb (outdoor type) 2 wiggly eyes 1 red pompom Tinsel pipe cleaners – 5 inches Red satin ribbon – 5 inches for hanger, approx. 5 inches for bow Hot glue gun Directions: To make the reindeer’s antlers, slightly

Wildlife cull an option

The federal government may reduce the number of elk and deer in Riding Mountain National Park to control tuberculosis in the wildlife population. Parks Canada is considering a wildlife cull in the western end of the park because of a persistently high rate of TB there. The move, if it happens, would be a major