The Ministry of Agriculture and Todd Lewis of the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan are recommending to farmers that they consult with their veterinarians after seven animals in southeastern Saskatchewan died suddenly due to a case of animal anthrax.

Wendy Wilkins, a disease surveillance veterinarian with the Ministry of Agriculture and Lewis said in separate interviews that they vaccines are available to help protect their animals.

On Thursday, the province sent out a news release saying that seven deaths occurred in the R.M. of Golden West, however a correction has been sent out stating that the seven deaths happened in the adjacent R.M. of Chester. Both rural municipalities are located in crop district 1B and are located southeast of Regina.

Wilkins also recommends that those handling the animal carcasses use precaution which includes wearing the proper protective equipment. Wilkins says to put it into perspective, in 2006 when there was an anthrax outbreak across Saskatchewan affecting over 800 animals, only two people handling the animals got a skin infection.

Wilkins says a skin infection is the least serious form of an anthrax infection and that it is easily treatable. The province hasn’t said what animals were affected, although Wilkins did say they were all domestic ruminants.

This is the first animal anthrax case in the province since 2015. That year, less than 20 animals on three different farms were affected.

The Ministry of Agriculture says changes in soil moisture, from flooding and drying, can lead to a buildup of the spores on pastures. They can concentrate in sloughs and potholes. The risk of animal exposure increases in drier years when these areas dry up and become accessible. Livestock are infected when they eat forage contaminated with spores.