Québec and federal officials have found a third case of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in a domestic red deer on a farm reported to be in Boileau.
The farm has been at the centre of Québec’s first outbreak of the debilitating disease where two other cases have been discovered since September.
Provincial and federal officials have responded to the CWD outbreak with a total quarantine and slaughter of some of the domestic herd, and a cull of wild deer in a control zone in the area around it. Culled deer are being tested for CWD. Hunting and trapping in that zone have also been banned. Deer and moose shot by hunters in a zone around that must be taken to designated stations for testing. No cases of CWD in wild deer have been discovered.
The Municipality of Grenville-sur-la-Rouge released the news about the third case of CWD on a local news Facebook group.
The release emphasized that officials are still looking for the source, or “zero point,” of where the outbreak originated.
Grenville-sur-la-Rouge Mayor Tom Arnold said it is important for residents to keep cooperating with the authorities investigating the CWD outbreak. “I would particularly like to thank all citizens for their valuable collaboration with nature protection agents and biologists, as well as their patience with the progress of this situation,” Arnold said.
The mayor also said the municipality will continue to keep residents informed as the CWD response evolves.
Many residents had been critical of the response to the outbreak and public communication efforts by the Québec and federal governments when CWD was first discovered in the domestic deer herd in September.
One of the criticisms was that the farm and herd at the centre of the outbreak was never publicly disclosed.
