It doesn’t appear an elk population in western Manitoba infected with tuberculosis is much of a threat to elk or livestock in Saskatchewan.
Parks Canada says about 4% of the elk in Riding Mountain National Park have TB, and there is a serious threat to the livestock industry.
However, the province’s chief ecologist, Heen Ten Hwang, says studies show that the chance of the elk migrating to Saskatchewan is very low.
Hwang says those elk have a tendency to move in a north-south direction, rather than east-west.
She also notes that there are strict TB-testing protocols in place for the transportation of elk or cattle into the province.
(includes files from The Canadian Press)