REGINA, Sask. – The province will not be continuing testing for chronic wasting disease beyond the end of the month.
In a statement the Ministry of Environment confirmed it will end its chronic wasting disease testing program as of Oct. 31, including both discretionary and mandatory testing. Chronic wasting disease is a disease that afflicts wildlife such as deer and elk.
“Program uptake among hunters has been low so this was seen as an opportunity for efficiency. The government made this decision earlier this fall,” the ministry said in a statement.
The ministry also said that the province “continues to recognize CWD as an important wildlife-health issue. The decision to end government-funded testing does not mean CWD has disappeared or that it is no longer important to wildlife management decisions. While the discontinuation of the CWD head testing program will end one source of information available to wildlife managers, the ministry will continue to monitor wildlife health and populations using a variety of other management tools and information sources.”
The ministry has posted that samples from mandatory testing zones submitted before Oct. 31 will be processed. But samples from voluntary submission zones will not be tested.
But a number of hunting and wildlife groups have publicly expressed concerns about the testing program ending. Those have included the Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation and Saskatchewan Trappers Association.
The Facebook group Sask CWD posted its dismay about the decision.
“The many hunters who have already submitted heads and samples from big game harvested this year have wasted their time and effort in doing so if your animal was not harvested in one of the provinces mandatory submission zones. After Oct 31, no big game animals will be tested for CWD, and hunters will be left in the dark, not knowing if any big game animals they have harvested are safe for human consumption or not!” they posted.
“….The Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment is abandoning hunters and leaving them with no way to ensure their big game animals harvested are safe for human consumption.”
Opposition Deputy Critic for Agriculture Trent Wotherspoon and Environment Critic Jared Clarke issued a statement Friday afternoon condemning the decision.
“The termination of this program is deeply concerning and hurts wildlife populations and hunting in Saskatchewan,” they posted.
“This decision is extremely shortsighted. Once again, we see the Sask. Party government cutting a valued program with zero foresight and zero consultation with hunters and researchers.”
The NDP critics said that since the decision was made public, “our offices have been flooded with concerns from many people across the province.”
“Saskatchewan hunters play a valuable role in disease surveillance and management, and they are able to do so through programs such as the voluntary CWD testing program. This program offered hunters important peace of mind with the meat they harvest, process and consume. It also provided invaluable information to researchers to manage this disease and wildlife. We call on the provincial government to reverse this decision.”
