CWD continues to spread in the province. (Submitted photo/Ministry of Environment)

By Michael Joel-Hansen

Chronic wasting disease

Chronic wasting disease an issue in many areas of Saskatchewan

May 12, 2020 | 4:16 PM

Chronic wasting disease is present in 55 of Saskatchewan’s 85 wildlife management zones.

Chuck Lees, assistant executive director with fish, wildlife and lands branch with the ministry of environment said last year they had over 3,000 samples submitted to them by hunters for testing.

Lees said this was the highest number of submissions they got since they resumed the program a number of years back.

“We found 528 of those samples had chronic wasting disease,” he said.

Chronic wasting disease or CWD affects deer, elk, reindeer and moose and attacks the central nervous system and eventually leads to death.

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The test results show CWD is increasing in prevalence in some areas and distribution across the province. He explained there are some areas where it has not been found.

“We haven’t found it in the forest yet, so the northern half of the province we haven’t detected chronic wasting disease,” he said.

Lees added there are also some areas in the southeast of the province where there have been no confirmed cases.

Most big game seasons are set to get underway in September. Lees said the ministry is preparing to have all of their testing infrastructure in place by then. He added it was too soon to tell if the COVID-19 situation would keep people from going out hunting and potentially bringing down sample sizes.

“We’ll have to keep an eye on that and see if it affects hunter participation,” he said.

Overall, Lees said it will likely depend on the state of provincial travel restrictions at the time.

Lees said the ministry of environment is working with the ministry of agriculture to try to develop a strategy to deal with the spread which they are hoping to have in place at the end of the year.

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MichaelJoel.Hansen@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @mjhskcdn