Gastrointestinal parasites in farmed bison: Prevalence in Western Canada

Abstract

The Canadian bison industry has grown considerably in the last two decades. This is due to the nutritional value of bison meat as well as consumer demand for products that do not contain hormones or antibiotics. As an industry grows, the relevance of science to provide better management recommendations becomes even more important. It is, therefore, important to conduct more research in such a growing industry. A prevalence study was conducted using 249 faecal samples from 16 herds across the four western provinces of Canada. These samples were either collected on farm during animals handling or at a slaughterhouse. The faecal samples were examined via 3-chambered McMaster under a microscope for the presence of eggs of eight different gastrointestinal parasite species. These parasites and the prevalence of positive samples were: Capillaria spp. 5.8%, Eimeria spp. 83%, Moniezia spp. 5.2%, Nematodirus spp. 0.8%, Strongyloides papillosus 2.8%, Toxocara vitulorum 0.0%, Trichostrongylus spp. 54% and Trichuris spp. 0.8%. The percentage of positive herds was 25, 94, 31, 13, 31, 0, 94 and 13% respectively. This research project also examined the difference in faecal egg counts for each parasite in bison housed in feedlots or on pasture. Egg counts for Capillaria spp., Moniezia spp. and Trichostrongylus spp. were significantly higher in bison on pasture than those in a feedlot. The egg counts for these parasites were higher in pastured bison than feedlot bison. Toxocara vitulorum was not found in any of the samples. For the remaining four parasite species, no significant difference in faecal egg counts was detected between the two operation types. Overall, some differences in egg counts between the two differently farmed bison populations were found. The majority however, did not show any difference.