Province probing elk escapes from two farms
By AJAY BHARDWAJ, EDMONTON SUN
As Alberta Agriculture continues its investigation into how
20 elk escaped from an eastern game farm, the department is launching another
into how another herd got away from a farm in the northwest.
Robert Pulyk confirmed the department is investigating a herd of runaway
elk from a ranch near Valleyview, 347 km northwest of Edmonton.
"My understanding is they believe the majority of the
animals were attracted back into the game farm," he said.
"All we need to do now is complete that investigation and do an inventory
to ensure that we've got all the animals there."
Some 20 elk were shot by Alberta Fish and Wildlife officers after they
escaped from a ranch and were spotted near Marwayne, 246 km east of Edmonton,
last month.
Meanwhile, elk rancher Brian Holowaychuk said it's "mind-boggling" the
government hasn't stepped forward to help elk ranchers hard-pressed by
shrinking markets.
Premier Ralph Klein and western premiers are calling on Ottawa to compensate
cattle ranchers suffering because mad-cow disease closed international
markets to them.
"It's frustrating," he said. "You sure feel a little left out. If you're
part of an industry that only has a couple of thousand (of ranchers across
Canada), it doesn't matter. But if it's a bigger number, then it's a crisis."
Holowaychuk has 160 elk on his 80-acre ranch south of Sherwood Park
and he said times have been tough since the market for his product dried
up after a case of chronic wasting disease in an elk last year.
And he said he wouldn't be surprised if some elk farmers, desperate
for cash help, are releasing their animals to the wild.
"I absolutely believe that there are guys that desperate," Holowaychuk
said, adding it's something he wouldn't do because it creates a danger
to wildlife.
"We're as desperate as cattle ranchers."Previous
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