Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in Sami Reindeer Herding: The Socio-Political Dimension of an Epizootic in an Indigenous Context

Abstract

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is the most transmissible of the prion diseases. In 2016, an unexpected case was found in Norway, the first in Europe. Since then, there have been 32 confirmed cases in Norway, Sweden, and Finland. This paper aims to examine the situation from a social and political perspective: considering the management of CWD in the Swedish part of Sápmi—the Sami ancestral land; identifying the place of the Sami people in the risk management–because of the threats to Sami reindeer herding that CWD presents; and understanding how the disease can modify the modalities of Indigenous reindeer husbandry, whether or not CWD is epizootic. Based on interviews with various stakeholders and by examining the social sciences literature, this paper shows that the health risk management is structured by a politico-scientific controversy about the recognition, or not, of atypical and classical CWD. The Sami herders are currently cooperating with the state authorities in the surveillance program to sample their herds. This involvement takes place in a situation where the balance of power between the Sami people and the state, or the European Union, is framed by its colonial context. This has consequences with respect to the definition of a common interest and to implementing sanitary measures. The particular features of reindeer herding are seen as a challenge to managing CWD risk, compared with European health standards. We argue that CWD will greatly modify the modalities of Indigenous reindeer herding, whether there are positive cases or not in the Sami reindeer. By implementing new health guidelines, the authorities will create a cascading effect in Sami land and its use. The CWD situation in Fennoscandia is full of uncertainty but may cause a major shift in the organization and the governance of Sápmi. In September 2020, the identification of a new CWD case in a wild reindeer in Norway started a new episode in the disease management in Fennoscandia. Our paper raises various questions linked to understanding this new step in this crisis which is not only epidemiological, but also socio-cultural and political.

Review on PRNP genetics and susceptibility to chronic wasting disease of Cervidae

“…For this surveillance, a clear infection pattern, selective harvesting and a population model are needed. CWD is a new challenge in wildlife epidemiology that requires multidisciplinary approaches between scientists and stakeholders, including health and governmental authorities [37]. The social aspect and the role of indigenous communities with their cultural practices shall not be neglected.…”

“…Seven cases, aged between 10 to 20 years, were identified in Eastern Norway. These cases were located in Selbu (N = 3), Lierne (N = 1), Sigdal (N = 1), Flesberg (N = 1) and Steinkjer (N = 1) municipalities [37,38]. Based on seasonal migrations, it is considered that they likely represent different moose subpopulations [39,40].…”

“…In Colorado, one affected 209MM moose shot in 2005 and two others shot in 2006 were reported [118]. In Europe, several moose CWD cases were reported, 7 in Norway (including 3 homozygotes moose K 109 M 209 ), 4 in Sweden and 2 in Finland [37,38,40,41].…”

Chronic wasting disease in Europe: new strains on the horizon

“…The results of this programme are reported to EFSA by the member states involved and published in annual reports [ 69 ]. Although sampling animals of the selected target groups could be challenging due to the necessary logistics when animals die in remote areas [ 70 ], EFSA concluded in 2019 [ 71 ] that testing higher risk animals is more informative about the disease than testing healthy animals [ 71 ]. Funding and political will have had an impact on the number of samples collected in different countries [ 70 ].…”

Upper Midwest tribal natural resource managers' perspectives on chronic wasting disease outreach, surveillance, and management

“…(3) opportunities for partnership-development with tribes in cosharing knowledge and building capacity to control CWD. This was the first of several steps to learn how each tribal nation approached natural resource management and to enable the codevelopment of future outreach, management, and surveillance plans such that community-specific cultural needs are met (Brook & McLachlan, 2008;Gratani et al, 2014;Lewis & Boyd, 2012;Maraud & Roturier, 2021).…”