Sheep Separation Program

KCP Stewardship - Sheep Goat Separation - Lyle Beaudoin

Photo: Lyle Beaudoin

Wild sheep share a number of similarities with their domestic cousins: they will use the same forage and water sources, and can even interbreed.

Where bighorn range and domestic sheep operations overlap, it’s understandable that a randy ram might find a large flock of domestic ewes worth a closer look.

Unfortunately, these forays can have deadly consequences. Even nose-to-nose contact between the two species can result in the transfer of a pathogen lethal to wild sheep. And because it takes time for animals to become symptomatic, an infected (but visibly healthy) bighorn that returns to its herd will spread the disease, potentially decimating an entire population.

BC Sheep Separation Program

Program Coordinator
250-804-3513
jeremy.ayotte@gmail.com