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New rules set to protect wild sheep from domestic
The B.C. government recently introduced regulatory changes to the Wildlife Act with the aim of safeguarding wild sheep from disease transmitted from domestic sheep.
Domestic sheep and wild sheep can contract many of the same infectious organisms, but their immune systems and resistance to disease differ.
Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae (M. ovi), a bacteria commonly found in the nasal cavities of domestic sheep and goats, rarely causes illness in domestic animals but can lead to deadly cases of pneumonia in wild sheep, the Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship noted in a media release.
Domestic sheep often carry M. ovi without showing signs of infection. When not properly contained, domestic sheep can interact with wild sheep and spread it through activities such as grazing nearby, nose-to-nose contact, or sharing water or salt sources.
Once introduced, M. ovi can spread quickly through wild populations, causing die-offs across all age groups and long-term population declines as fewer lambs survive and disease persists in herds. Proper containment practices help prevent domestic animals from escaping and interacting with wild populations, reducing the risk of disease transmission.
Most producers already take steps to properly contain sheep, and these changes support responsible animal management, the ministry said.
Under these changes, domestic sheep are now classified as “non-domestic” animals under specific sections of the Wildlife Act.
As a result, the following provisions now apply to sheep:
* releasing or abandoning sheep on Crown land is an offence;
* owners must make every reasonable effort to recover escaped sheep;
* the province assumes ownership of released or abandoned farmed sheep;
* wildlife officers can lethally remove escaped or abandoned sheep at large if they pose a risk to wild sheep or wildlife habitat.
These changes are consistent with how goats, which also pose a disease transmission risk to their wild counterparts, are already regulated under the Wildlife Act, the ministry said.
Approximately six per cent of wild sheep range overlaps with private land.
e-KNOW file photos
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