This multi-stakeholder program is focused on finding effective long-term solutions to a controversial wildlife health issue. We are using innovative science and piloting novel techniques, that have been guided by a formal Ministry of Agriculture and Foods strategic advisory group made up of representatives from wild sheep conservation groups, domestic sheep and goat industry representatives, veterinary pathologists and government staff. Each of our collaborative projects are driven by the need to fill knowledge gaps and speed collective learning with the overall goal of developing scientifically supported provincial policy to solve the problem of pathogen spillover from domestic sheep and goats to wild sheep across BC. The BC Sheep Separation Program works at a provincial scale, with concerns for the continued health of northern thinhorn sheep, but with a focus on southern bighorn sheep range, where the prevalence of domestic sheep farms, and the risk of disease transmission and persistence among wild sheep herds is highest.
The British Columbia Sheep Separation Program (BCSSP) is an important program for BC’s wild sheep, promoting healthy wild sheep throughout the province by reducing contact between wild and domestic sheep.
Have you witnessed contact between wild and domestic sheep.