What We’re Reading | RDAR invests $521,000 in research projects to combat the growing risk of CWD

RDAR supports two advanced research projects that explore potential CWD impacts on agriculture crops and wildlife

Results Driven Agriculture Research will invest a total of $521,000 into two critical Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) projects led by researchers from the University of Alberta and the University of Calgary. These research projects will focus on understanding and addressing the spread of CWD.

CWD is a fatal disease affecting cervids – animal members of the deer family, such as deer, elk, moose, and caribou – and is a fatal prion disease like bovine spongiform encephalitis (BSE) in cattle. Currently, there is no known transmission of the disease to humans.

The disease was first detected in Canada in Saskatchewan in 1996, spreading to Alberta in 2005. To date, CWD has been detected in cervid animals across the four Prairie provinces, and in late 2021 Saskatchewan reported that up to 70% of male deer in the South Saskatchewan River basin were infected.

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‘What We’re Reading’ is a quick look at some of the issues and insights Alberta Beef Producers’ content creators and editors are reading to stay up-to-date, to broaden perspectives, and to explore issues relevant to the agriculture industry.