Sask. looks for better data on diseases affecting wild game

WATCH: The province is hoping new mandatory testing for two wildlife infectious diseases will help complete missing information it's been searching for.

The province is hoping new mandatory testing for two wildlife infectious diseases will help provide the missing information it’s been searching for.

On Monday, the province announced deer and elk hunters in certain parts of Saskatchewan will be required to submit the heads of their animals as part of mandatory testing for Bovine Tuberculosis and Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) this hunting season.

The main goal behind the new testing requirement is to get a more accurate set of data to work with.

“We need to bump up our samples enough that we can make some accurate estimates of prevalence in order to answer some wildlife management questions that we really need to answer,” said Erin Moffatt, a fish and wildlife health biologist with the province.

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The testing requirements follow confirmed cases of Bovine Tuberculosis among cattle herds in Saskatchewan over the last two years.

Wildlife management zones surrounding Yorkton (WMZ No. 37, 39) must test for Bovine Tuberculosis.

Zones in the North Battleford, Tisdale, Meadow Lake and Nipawin areas (WMZ No. 43, 47, 50 and 55) are among those under a mandatory order to test for CWD.

Moffatt says there have been no cases of bovine tuberculosis found in Saskatchewan wildlife.

But CWD, a fatal infectious disease affecting the nervous system of cervids (deer, elk, moose, and caribou), has been an ongoing concern for the province because of its increasing prevalence.

Moffatt says in some areas, 75 per cent of the mule deer population is infected. Other areas are unknown until more testing can be done. Moffatt says testing now could affect policy changes, as well as harvest limits moving forward.

“CWD could have a population-level effect,” she said. “And also just how to proceed with management of the disease and surveillance of the disease in these areas.”

Darrell Crabbe, the executive director of the Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation, says mandatory testing is sorely needed considering Saskatchewan’s high rates.

“Alot of the information that we need is as much about where it isn’t as of yet, and as to where it is and the prevalence rate that we have, because we are somewhat ground zero for all of North America,” Crabbe said.

“We have the highest prevalence rates of chronic wasting disease on the continent here, so it’s a very sad state of affairs.”

According to the 2023-24 CWD Surveillance Program, Mule deer along the South Saskatchewan River Valley had prevalence rates ranging up to 92 per cent.

Crabbe says there isn’t much concern for CWD among the hunting community. He has voluntarily tested his harvested animals, but he knows many hunters who don’t bother.

“I think a lot of people have just come to the conclusion that it’s here to stay,” Crabbe said. “They’re not going to take any special precautions about how they’re going to handle meat or get it tested.”

Hunters harvesting deer or elk in effected zones during the draw or regular season must submit the animal’s head for testing within one month of harvest or by January 21, 2026, whichever comes first.

CWD results will be posted online. with an expected turnaround time of four to six weeks. The ministry will also expand the carcass disposal program this season and add additional disposal bins this hunting season free of charge.

-With files from Blair Farthing and David Prisciak