scooter
04-02-2009, 08:20 AM
Alberta Fish & Game Association Concerned about re-appearance of Kill Farms
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Edmonton April 1, 2009)… Alberta’s largest conservation group, the Alberta Fish & Game
Association (AFGA), is gravely concerned about allegations that the Alberta Provincial
Government is once again discussing behind closed doors and without public
consultation the implementation of Elk & Deer Kill Farms in a last ditch effort to save the
struggling game farm industry in Alberta. The way this works is that an interested
customer pays a fee to the game farmer and is then allowed to shoot a tame deer or elk
of their choice.
Kill farms were most recently defeated in 2002-03 after a public uproar initiated by the
AFGA in concert with other conservation groups convinced the government of the day
not to proceed. Since then the farmed elk and deer industry has been on a steady
decline with much of its revenue coming from antler velvet sales widely used world wide
in traditional Asian medicine to treat conditions such as impotence, arthritis and high
blood pressure.
Game farms have been linked to the introduction and spreading of Chronic Wasting
Disease(CWD), the ungulate equivalent of mad cow, which is a contagious, fatal
disease of deer and elk that continues to spread throughout North America.
With the recent results of a study conducted at the University of Kentucky Medical
Center, Lexington, Kentucky(Angers RC, Seward TS, Napier D, Green M, Hoover E, Spraker T, et
al. Chronic wasting disease prions in elk antler velvet. Emerg Infect Dis. 2009 May; [Epub ahead of print]
), that concludes: “…that studies indicate that antler velvet represents a previously
unrecognized source of CWD prions in the environment” and “… that antler velvet
represents an additional source for human exposure to CWD prions” being
released, the industry will probably lose more ground. The Kill Farm program is viewed
as a last gasp at making some money as non-resident hunters have been known to pay
over ten thousand dollars to shoot a tame elk in those jurisdictions where kill farms are
legal.
“This is an outrage,” said Quentin Bochar, AFGA President, “and really hope it’s not true
that the Government is going behind everyone’s back to try and bail out a few
individuals who made bad business decisions in the first place when they got into the
game farm business. Game farms are just a bad idea as other jurisdictions are finding
out and are indeed closing them down. We encourage the government to follow suit and
compensate game farmers for closing down their operation.”
He went on to encourage all AFGA members to get in contact with their local MLAs to
get the truth behind this concern.
The Alberta Fish and Game Association is a not-for-profit volunteer organization proud
to serve Albertans in the promotion of the wise use of our fish and wildlife resources and
the conservation of their habitats. The AFGA has been active since 1908 in working
towards these goals and has a province-wide membership of more than 19,000
individuals spread among 100+ Clubs.
Link to MLA contact info:
http://www.assembly.ab.ca/net/index.aspx?p=mla_home
-30-
CONTACT: Quentin Bochar, President, (780) 939-3914 or (780)-719-6557
Martin Sharren, Executive Vice President, (780) 437-2342
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Edmonton April 1, 2009)… Alberta’s largest conservation group, the Alberta Fish & Game
Association (AFGA), is gravely concerned about allegations that the Alberta Provincial
Government is once again discussing behind closed doors and without public
consultation the implementation of Elk & Deer Kill Farms in a last ditch effort to save the
struggling game farm industry in Alberta. The way this works is that an interested
customer pays a fee to the game farmer and is then allowed to shoot a tame deer or elk
of their choice.
Kill farms were most recently defeated in 2002-03 after a public uproar initiated by the
AFGA in concert with other conservation groups convinced the government of the day
not to proceed. Since then the farmed elk and deer industry has been on a steady
decline with much of its revenue coming from antler velvet sales widely used world wide
in traditional Asian medicine to treat conditions such as impotence, arthritis and high
blood pressure.
Game farms have been linked to the introduction and spreading of Chronic Wasting
Disease(CWD), the ungulate equivalent of mad cow, which is a contagious, fatal
disease of deer and elk that continues to spread throughout North America.
With the recent results of a study conducted at the University of Kentucky Medical
Center, Lexington, Kentucky(Angers RC, Seward TS, Napier D, Green M, Hoover E, Spraker T, et
al. Chronic wasting disease prions in elk antler velvet. Emerg Infect Dis. 2009 May; [Epub ahead of print]
), that concludes: “…that studies indicate that antler velvet represents a previously
unrecognized source of CWD prions in the environment” and “… that antler velvet
represents an additional source for human exposure to CWD prions” being
released, the industry will probably lose more ground. The Kill Farm program is viewed
as a last gasp at making some money as non-resident hunters have been known to pay
over ten thousand dollars to shoot a tame elk in those jurisdictions where kill farms are
legal.
“This is an outrage,” said Quentin Bochar, AFGA President, “and really hope it’s not true
that the Government is going behind everyone’s back to try and bail out a few
individuals who made bad business decisions in the first place when they got into the
game farm business. Game farms are just a bad idea as other jurisdictions are finding
out and are indeed closing them down. We encourage the government to follow suit and
compensate game farmers for closing down their operation.”
He went on to encourage all AFGA members to get in contact with their local MLAs to
get the truth behind this concern.
The Alberta Fish and Game Association is a not-for-profit volunteer organization proud
to serve Albertans in the promotion of the wise use of our fish and wildlife resources and
the conservation of their habitats. The AFGA has been active since 1908 in working
towards these goals and has a province-wide membership of more than 19,000
individuals spread among 100+ Clubs.
Link to MLA contact info:
http://www.assembly.ab.ca/net/index.aspx?p=mla_home
-30-
CONTACT: Quentin Bochar, President, (780) 939-3914 or (780)-719-6557
Martin Sharren, Executive Vice President, (780) 437-2342