Examining the Risk of Disease Transmission between Wild Dall’s Sheep and Mountain Goats, and Introduced Domestic Sheep, Goats, and Llamas in the Northwest Territories

Authors

Elena Garde, University of Saskatchewan, 52 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, SK
Susan Kutz, University of Saskatchewan, 52 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, SK
Helen Schwantje, Wildlife Veterinarian, Biodiversity Branch, Ministry of Environment, Victoria, BC
Alasdair Veitch, Wildlife Management, Environment and Natural Resources, Sahtu Region, Norman Wells, NT
Emily Jenkins, Wildlife Disease Specialist / Research Scientist, Canadian Wildlife Service, Saskatoon, SKFollow
Brett Elkin, Disease & Contaminants Specialist, Environment and Natural Resources, Yellowknife, NT

Date of this Version

August 2005

Comments

Prepared for: The Northwest Territories Agricultural Policy Framework and Environment and Natural Resources Government of the Northwest Territories, Canada.

Abstract

This risk assessment has been carried out following the guidelines for Health Risk Analysis entitled “Wild Animal Translocations” prepared by the Canadian Cooperative Wildlife Health Centre (http://wildlife1.usask.ca). It includes 9 comprehensive appendices of bacterial, viral, parasitic and fungal organisms reported from domestic sheep, goats, llamas and wild sheep and mountain goats. The report is a breakdown of those appendices into discussions of organisms of major concern, organisms of unknown concern, organisms of minimal concern, and those that cause no apparent disease, are not transmissible between the species of interest, or do not occur in Canada. Where possible, organisms were assigned a risk designation according to the probability of transmission as well as the effects on susceptible species.