The antler market was one of the main driving forces of the elk industry. With the onslaught of CWD that hit our market—just like the BSE that hit the cattle industry, or bird flu—we eradicated 8,000 animals in Saskatchewan. To this date we haven't made any further progress. Basically, if we find a disease they come in and slaughter our animals, but there is no end result.
Korea has closed its borders to our horn market. China, now with world trade, has stopped all imports of food products and antler products into its market. Right now we're strapped. In the last five years we've gone from getting between $80 and $100 a pound for antlers to $15. Some of it is being processed here. Some of it is being smuggled into China. That's what's left of our market. Nobody has ever stepped forward to help us regain the confidence of Korea or China—to say that our products are safe and clean.
So that is where we are right now. The market is still strong in those countries, but we can't get our product there because we haven't had any government backing to help us open those doors again. That is the big problem with our market right now.
I don't know what else to say. Those are the big factors that have really hurt our industry--disease, and no backing from the government to open the doors again.