Culling

• Since 1996, a deadly neurodegenerative disease of cervids (deer, elk, moose, caribou, reindeer) has been spreading across Canada.
• On Jan. 31, 2024, chronic wasting disease (CWD) was detected for the first time in British Columbia in two deer.

Disease-causing proteins

• The protein is similar to other normal proteins in the body, except it’s abnormally shaped.
• The abnormal folding of these disease-causing prion proteins — which are found most abundantly in the brain — leads to brain damage that makes the brain appear like a sponge.
• Other TSEs include Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in people, bovine-spongiform encephalopathy (“mad cow disease”) in cows, and scrapie in sheep and goats.
• This means that early detection and management is critical for reducing the impact of this disease.

British Columbia’s preparations

• has established a surveillance program to detect CWD as soon as possible.
• Our research suggests that a robust approach to such a difficult disease will require rapid, collective and collaborative action across sectors.
• This approach must involve wildlife managers, hunters, local communities, First Nations and researchers to integrate a number of approaches.

Surveillance and management

• Many CWD management programs rely on removing infected animals from the landscape.
• While it is mandatory to submit the heads from hunted cervids in select management units in B.C., in most regions, submission is voluntary.
• Hunters can participate in CWD management and surveillance by removing the head of the animal and submitting it to a local testing station or freezer for CWD testing.

• The public can also participate in CWD surveillance and management by reporting signs of sick animals and vehicle collisions with cervids.
• This is why testing cervids that have been killed by vehicles is also a critical component of CWD surveillance and management.

Curbing the spread

• CWD can spread between animals through contact with bodily fluids.
• Legal restrictions on carcass transport and the use of urine-based scents in hunting can also reduce the unintentional spread of CWD.
• Research has shown that community-focused communication and engagement are essential for the success of CWD management efforts.
• In the days ahead, fostering open dialogue and collaboration will be paramount towards an effective and sustainable effort against CWD.

Kaylee Byers is the Regional Deputy Director of the British Columbia Node of the Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative and collaborates with the Wildlife Health Program, which leads Chronic Wasting Disease surveillance in British Columbia. Sarah Robinson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

• SpyCloud , the leader in Cybercrime Analytics, today announced Bill Cull as its new Vice President of Federal.
• In this role, Cull will lead the strategic expansion of SpyCloud's federal offerings for defense, civilian agencies and national security.
• Cull joins SpyCloud with decades of experience as a high-tech sales leader facilitating growth for companies serving government agencies.
• “The appointment of Bill Cull to support SpyCloud's federal initiatives represents a significant advancement for the company,” said Ted Ross, CEO & Co-Founder of SpyCloud.

• Law enforcement officials can separately choose to take part in the CAMS Bootcamp, an initiative that trains up to 30 agents at a time on how financial institutions deploy AML and counterterrorism financing (CTF) compliance controls to identify, track, and report suspicious activity.
• Visitors can also consult the hub's calendar of ACAMS conferences and seminars featuring representatives of national financial intelligence units, regulatory bodies, private-sector organizations, and law enforcement agencies.
• "The ACAMS Law Enforcement Ecosystem is a reflection of our belief that we can fight financial crime more effectively if we share our knowledge and collaborate across sectoral divides in new and impactful ways," he said.
• Find out more about the ACAMS Law Enforcement Ecosystem, including how to enroll in the curriculum and bootcamp, through the new hub: https://www.acams.org/en/the-acams-law-enforcement-hub

• Last month, an online campaign funded the erection of a statue in Oslo in Freya’s honour.
• But while some wild animal culls go viral, a great many more urban wildlife deaths go unnoticed and unchallenged.
• To understand what determines the diverse reactions to animal culls, I interviewed and observed municipal cullers in Sweden.

What and where to cull?

• They also stated that “the cuter the critters, the bigger the villains we are, and vice versa”.
• In one instance, cullers were rewarded with cake after removing wild boar from an area where they were recently introduced.
• If large birds are perceived as causing disturbances to both people and recreational activities, they are often culled without much consideration.
• But, as the swan was seen as a prominent feature of the city, the culler received death threats.

When, how and who?

• One culler noted receiving “a lot less yelling at me and fewer questions when you’re out at night and early mornings”.
• Certain culls – particularly those involving brute force or the deaths of other animals – violate public standards.
• During our interviews, cullers emphasised the importance of being locally recognised, with good people management skills to defuse conflicts.

What’s the reason?

• The mere presence of wild boars in urban areas of Sweden still triggers culls, regardless of what they are doing.
• As cities continue to encroach on animals’ habitats, human interaction with wild animals will become increasingly common.
• What’s clear, though, is that the situation calls for the development of a wildlife etiquette within the general public.
• This involves understanding how to behave in a manner that prevents the emergence of problematic wild animals in the first place.