APRIL 2017 • COUNTRY LIFE IN BC


Move to protect wild sheep will affect producers


by BARBARA JOHNSTONE GRIMMER


OLIVER – The BC sheep


industry has learned that regulatory changes using the new Animal Health Act are being considered that could impact sheep producers. Intended to protect wild sheep from Mycoplasma ovipneumonia (Movi) bacteria, these regulatory changes could restrict sheep farming and ranching. Regulation of the domestic sheep industry through the Animal Health Act has the BC Sheep Federation (BCSF) very concerned. Movi is suspected to be


responsible for most of the bighorn sheep die-offs. Keeping wild and domestic sheep separated is vital to reducing the transmission of Movi and other pneumonia- causing organisms.


The BC Sheep Separation


Program has been active since a wild sheep die-off in the late 1980s. Jeremy Ayotte co-ordinates projects for the program, working collaboratively with government agencies, wild sheep groups and the BCSF to mitigate risk to the wild sheep. Fencing programs, buy-outs, stock swaps, landscaping solutions and outreach are the tools he uses to find “win-win” situations.


“Separation is key,” says


Ayotte. The project is ready to expand its scope and range, including a larger region from


South Okanagan extending from the East Kootenays to the Thompson region. This region contains 20,000 domestic sheep representing 30% of the provincial flock. The BC Ministry of


Agriculture has supported the education of sheep producers with Healthy Flocks workshops that also provide outreach to inform sheep producers of the risk their sheep pose to the wild sheep. As there is potential for two- way disease transmission, producers can benefit from good biosecurity and separation from wild sheep. Former BCSF president Bev


Greenwell has been on the sheep separation committee for 15 years and is concerned that the other contributors to bighorn health problems are being overlooked. “All the other stressors need to be included and there needs to be more research,” says Greenwell. She lists a variety of stressors, such as hunting, psoroptic mange, predation, disturbance by vehicles, overgrazing, drought, severe winters, loss of habitat, food shortages, climate change and invasive species. She wonders why some herds have good health while others struggle. Her ideas are supported by researchers in the US who have long debated bighorn sheep pneumonia, describing it as an incompletely understood disease. Legal avenues to restrict


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sheep farming in bighorn areas have not been successful. A bylaw passed by the Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen was found unenforceable due to the Right to Farm Act, and a conservation covenant to prohibit sheep farming was refused by the Agricultural Land Commission. A 2014 review by the


Environmental Law Centre at the University of Victoria recommended that regulatory measures be taken using the Animal Health Act. The Animal Health Act has a provision to grant authority to the chief veterinary officer to establish quarantine and surveillance zones based on a reasonable belief that a reportable disease is present in the area. BCMA was asked to explore this option, which includes declaring Movi a reportable disease, requiring mandatory testing for the movement of sheep, declaring disease-free zones and regulating


domestic sheep production. The prevalence of Movi in domestic sheep in BC is unknown. It often displays no symptoms in domestic sheep but it may reduce productivity and contribute to respiratory diseases. The Animal Health Centre has developed a test for Movi currently being used in a study of 300 domestic sheep from 30 farms in high risk areas. Dr. Scott Mann from Thompson Rivers University leads the study and assures confidentiality. There is currently no


vaccine, although there is work ongoing in this area in the US. Valerie Moilliet Gerber of Aveley Ranch in Vavenby is a participant in the study and sees it as a positive effort to learn more about the disease. “Education is important to


keep both wild and domestic sheep healthy,” says Gerber. “It is good to know the state of our flock in BC so we know where to go with it.” Gerber is president of the BC Sheep Federation and a member of the BC sheep separation committee.


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