Sask. Forcing mandatory CWD and beef -TBC tests in selected zones for upcoming hunting season
White -tailed deer, Mule Deer and everyone must now be tested in various Wildlife Management Zones (WMZs) in Saskatchewan during the coming hunting season. The mandatory tests are the detection of cases of chronic waste disorders (CWD), as well as beef tuberculosis (tuberculosis), which many people concern, can be transferred via game animals.
Darrell Crabbe is the executive director of the SASK. Wildlife Federation. His organization has been calling for compulsory tests since 2019.
“The mandatory tests for CWD and these other areas are the same for an extension of an agricultural process than about science,” said Crabbe. “It gives us some good information about the prevalence in some zones that do not have historically there.”
The province said that mandatory CWD tests will be performed in WMZS 43, 47, 50 and 55. Moreover, in response to confirmed cases in two separate cattle herds in 2023 and 2024, mandatory beef tuberculosis tests will take place in WMZs 37 and 39. You will fall under use The interactive map of the province.
“Historically, we didn’t have much information in those zones they are talking about here, so it will be good to have some of that data to work with,” Crabbe said. “We are convinced that hunters should always be in the front to help with Citizen Science to try to remedy one of these types of conditions that we are dealing with.”
In a statement that was released on Monday, Minister of Environment Travis Keisig said that the monitoring of animal health is protecting hunting and agricultural economies.
“We are relying on hunters to submit samples for testing, and we appreciate their cooperation and thank them for their continuous support,” said Keisig.
According to the 2023-24 CWD monitoring program, Saskatchewan had some of the highest percentages of the disease in North America.
Hunters who harvest deer or moose in those zones must submit the heads of the animals within a month of death or by January 21, 2026, depending on what comes first.
The provincial government and the SASK. Wildlife Federation encourages hunters to submit voluntary monsters in all zones outside of those with compulsory tests, to get a better picture of the spread.
Drop-off locations will be available in the province and testing is free. The Ministry of Environment said it will also add more bins for the safe removal of carcasses or meat from CWD -positive animals.
