Hunt farms approved in Alberta
The Alberta government is opening the door to hunt farms for cervids.
The move was part of a red tape reduction bill introduced Nov. 17 by Service Alberta and red tape reduction minister Dale Nally.
Bill 10 makes amendments to legislation across a variety of ministries, including one in agriculture to allow producers to establish harvest preserves, also known as hunt farms.
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RJ Sigurdson, minister of agriculture and irrigation, said he has been told by the cervid industry that there have been many changes when it comes to domestic production over the last few decades.
“Export opportunities are very limited. Alberta, many decades ago, looked at a diversification plan, moving out into areas to domestically farm cervids,” said Sigurdson.
“What we heard from that industry was that due to limited export opportunities, they were looking at us to be able to consider cervid harvest preserves, to allow that to happen within the province of Alberta, so they have an additional opportunity for revenue. This is critical for their industry at this time when they’re struggling to be successful in that space.”
Sigurdson said cervid farming is a sustainable practice. A lot of the elk are raised in areas where cattle or other livestock cannot be raised.
The cervid industry has approached Sigurdson on multiple occasions and said cervid harvest preserves were necessary to have a sustainable future, he said.
Cervid harvesting is already practiced in Saskatchewan and in other jurisdictions in Canada.
“We see it as a reasonable opportunity to have that same activity here through these cervid harvest preserves. Of course, they’re going to be under strict criteria,” he said.
The agriculture ministry will have a say in how harvest preserves are created and to ensure that animals are harvested in the most ethical manner.
Sigurdson said cervid harvest preserves will not result in an increase in chronic wasting disease or other diseases. There has been documented cross contact and occasional disease spread between farmed and wild cervids, as well as documented CWD in the wild population.
Sigurdson said the cervid harvest preserves don’t change endemic and non-endemic CWD zones, and the standards used for testing in domestic cervid populations will be maintained.
“What I will say is under the domestic side, there is a very strict policy that all cervids are tested for CWD at harvest, to ensure we’re monitoring and taking a look at CWD and ensuring to minimize the spread in the province of Alberta,” he said.
Cervid harvest preserves will not change the high standards of animal and foreign animal disease control in the province, he added.
Sigurdson said harvest preserves bring opportunities for tourism and economic growth.
“I would say that from what we’ve seen in other provinces, it does create a tourism aspect to it — a hunting tourism that supports a lot of remote communities that normally don’t see those additional dollars. It does create a lot of potential there. We see opportunities for both cervid harvest preserves and Indigenous communities too,” he said.
Joseph Schow, minister of jobs, economy, trade and immigration, said hunters and anglers coming from elsewhere help promote Alberta’s products and bolster local economics.
People who come to hunt from outside the province buy local products and use tourist accommodations, he added.
“We measure success in terms of visitor spend. Our goal is $25 billion by 2035,” said Schow.
Other components of Bill 10 include changes to Canadian citizenship and public health-care numbers to be included on piece of identification such as driver’s licenses.
The Fair Registration Practices Act will be amended so first-time applicants who are professionals with international experience have access to working in regulated professions.
The All-Seasons Resort Act will streamline year-round, resort-based development on public land and allow private lands to be part of an all-season resort.
Source: producer.com