The Alberta government has now declared the bovine tuberculosis outbreak a disaster, affecting about 26,000 animals on 50 ranches.
The cabinet made the declaration on Thursday so that emergency relief funds could be freed up for farmers.
The federal and provincial governments are providing nearly $17M in funding to help the situation. Alberta’s share is about 40 percent of that.
Farmers who are affected by the quarantine can apply through the Agriculture Financial Services Corporation.
On November 2, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency issued a quarantine order for 30 ranches after a single cow from a ranch near Jenner was found suffering from bovine tuberculosis.
The quarantine led to three cattle herds being destroyed a few days later.
Earlier this month, ranchers met in Calgary to discuss the impact of the outbreak, saying they’ve been hit hard by the situation.
The strain of TB in this case has never been seen in Canada before and used to only be in Mexico and the United States.
Experts say they don’t know how it’s transmitted and they haven’t found the exact source.
