Wood bison disease management

Free-ranging wood bison in and around northern Alberta's Wood Buffalo National Park are prone to infection from two cattle diseases: bovine tuberculosis and brucellosis.

Recognizing the health threat that this poses to domestic livestock and healthy wild bison living in the vicinity of Wood Buffalo National Park, the Ministries of Agriculture and Rural Development and Environment and Sustainable Resource Development have developed an approach for managing disease risk until a long-term solution can be applied to infected populations in and around Wood Buffalo National Park.

Progress reports can be found on the Open Government Portal at:

• Managing Disease Risk in Northern Alberta Wood Bison – Outside of Wood Buffalo National Park

The reports provided on the Portal are as follows:

• 2015 – 2016 Progress Report
• 2014 – 2015 Progress Report
• 2013 – 2014 Progress Report
• 2012 – 2013 Progress Report
• 2011 – 2012 Progress Report
• 2010 – 2011 Progress Report

• Disease Detected in Wood Bison Outside Wood Buffalo National Park – July 28, 2011 Information Bulletin
• Disease Detected in Bison Outside Wood Buffalo National Park – June 28, 2012 Information Bulletin
• Managing Disease Risk in Alberta's Wood Bison – Fact Sheet
• Managing Disease Risk in Alberta's Wood Bison with Special Focus on Bison to the west of Wood Buffalo National Park

Related Information

• Wildlife Diseases

  See this page for the following fact sheets:

  • Bovine Tuberculosis (Mycobacterium bovis) in Alberta
  • Brucellosis (Brucella spp) in Alberta

Alberta Health and Wellness

• Brucellosis
  Information about brucellosis and human health.