B.C. takes further steps to curb spread of fatal brain disease in deer, elk, moose

A file image of a white-tailed deer. (Photo by: Aaron J Hill/Pexels)

The British Columbia government has introduced new regulations to curb the spread of chronic wasting disease in deer, elk, moose and caribou populations after the deadly disease was first detected in the Kootenay region earlier this year.

The rules include mandatory testing for the disease in any animal killed by hunters or vehicles, as well as a ban on transporting the brain tissue or spinal column of a deer carcass outside of the region, which stretches south from Cranbrook to the Canada-U.S. border.

The B.C. Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship says chronic wasting disease was confirmed in two Kootenay deer in January. A targeted harvest of 50 deer from the same area found no further cases, the ministry said in a statement Friday.

"This suggests that the disease has been detected early and is affecting a small proportion of the population," the ministry said. "Without active management, the disease will continue to spread and lead to irreversible impacts to cervid populations."

The province says the new measures are part of a long-term plan to contain and manage the disease, which impairs brain function in the animals.

"There is no direct evidence that the disease can be transmitted to humans and there have been no reports of cases of disease in humans," the ministry said.

As a precaution, however, Health Canada recommends not consuming meat or other parts of an animal infected with the disease, saying the abnormal proteins that cause the illness are not destroyed by heat when cooked.