Deer cull underway in Quebec to manage disease

Quebec's Ministry of Forests, Wildlife and Parks is planning to kill more than 300 deer to prevent chronic wasting disease from spreading.

The plan for the Outaouais and the Laurentians was announced at a press conference Thursday.

It comes after a deer raised on a farm north of Montreal was found to have the disease, which is similar to mad cow diseasebut occurs in deer and elk and is considered more infectious.

The department has already slaughtered 80 animals and none have tested positive for the disease.

The government is also cancelling hunting season for animals such as bears and partridgein certain areas of zones 10 East and 9 West until Nov. 18 as part of the effort to contain the disease.

Keith Munro, a biologist with the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters, said on CBCRadio'sAll In A DayThursday disease spreads relatively easily on these farms because animals are kept close together in the same area, giving them more exposure to potentially infected urine and saliva.

That's whyhis group has called for them to be phased out, with compensation for the farmers.