The government of British Columbia has modified regulations to grant wildlife officers enhanced authority to euthanize escaped or deserted domestic sheep to safeguard wild sheep populations. The province’s recent adjustment in classifying domestic sheep under the Wildlife Act aims to prevent potential large-scale die-offs in wild herds due to disease transmission.
Domestic and wild sheep are susceptible to similar infectious agents, yet their immune systems and disease resistance vary. Notably, a bacterium called M. ovi, or Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae, commonly present in domestic sheep and goats, seldom causes illness in them but can result in fatal pneumonia outbreaks in wild sheep.
According to the Ministry of Water, Land, and Resource Stewardship, the bacteria can spread through wildlife populations rapidly via shared grazing areas, water sources, or salt licks. Furthermore, the updated regulations deem abandoning sheep on Crown land as an offense, enabling the ministry to take ownership of the animals.
