The government of British Columbia has revised its rules to grant wildlife officers expanded authority to euthanize escaped or deserted domestic sheep to safeguard wild sheep populations. This adjustment in the Wildlife Act’s classification of domestic sheep aims to prevent the transmission of diseases that could potentially result in widespread deaths among wild herds.
Both domestic and wild sheep are susceptible to similar infectious agents, although their immune responses and disease resistances vary. Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae, also known as M. ovi, is a bacterium commonly found in domestic sheep and goats, usually causing no harm but capable of triggering fatal pneumonia in wild sheep.
According to a statement from the Ministry of Water, Land, and Resource Stewardship, the bacteria can spread through wild populations rapidly, primarily through shared grazing areas, water sources, or salt licks. Additionally, the regulatory modifications now deem abandoning sheep on Crown land as a punishable offense, enabling the government to take ownership of such animals.