Sask. government needs game heads for chronic wasting disease testing

The Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment is again asking hunters to drop off the heads of deer, moose and elk this season after more than 3,300 were submitted last year.

The body parts will be tested for chronic wasting disease (CWD), a deadly and infectious central nervous system disease with no known cure.

According to the government, testing is needed to understand the spreading of the disease and the potential impact it might have on game populations. 

Besides getting their game tested, hunters can also help decrease the spread of the disease by accurately disposing of any animal carcass waste, the Ministry of Environment says on its website.

While there have been no known cases of CWD in humans, hunters should not consume their meat until they get test results and should not eat meat from animals that test positive, the province says.

First cases in Sask. in 1996

The first cases of CWD in Saskatchewan were detected in 1996 in game farm animals and the disease eventually transitioned to wild mule deer in 2000.

According to the government, CWD has since spread to deer, elk and moose in 55 out of the province's 83 wildlife management zones.

Prions — infectious proteins — cause the disease by accumulating in the nervous tissue of deer, moose, elk or caribou, the province says. These proteins can cause holes in the animals' brains.

Wildlife Management Zones

While free testing is available in all Wildlife Management Zones (WMZs) in the province, certain areas and cervid species are of particular interes, including mule deer and white-tailed deer in the zones 2W, 9, 10, 35 and 37. The government hopes to receive at least 300 heads in each of these zones.

Samples from WMZs 50 (northeast of Prince Albert) and 55 (around Meadow Lake) are needed to assess the CWD risk in woodland caribou habitat.