REGINA, Sask. — Minister of Environment Darlene Rowden has announced the province is reinstating its chronic wasting disease testing program, which it had axed just days earlier.
There had been major pushback from hunting and wildlife groups ever since the decision to end testing was announced last week. Speaking to reporters at the legislature, Rowden admitted that the government was wrong and too hasty in making the decision to end testing.
“Our government has been hearing from hunters and stakeholders on our decision about ending CWD testing,” Rowden said.
“They told us they value having information that helps them make decisions about consuming harvested wild game and they want to continue contributing to wildlife health monitoring. The message was clear. Access to CWD testing matters. We listened, we recognized we made a mistake, and we are sorry.”
In her statement to reporters, Rowden said the province has updated its chronic wasting disease (CWD) testing approach for the 2026-27 hunting season.
“Under this approach, we are returning to the model used last year. Mandatory testing will continue in designated wildlife management zones, while voluntary testing will remain available across the province.”
She said the decision “reflects what we heard from hunters, wildlife organizations, and other stakeholders across Saskatchewan. Saskatchewan has a strong hunting tradition. Hunting is an important part of life for many families, supports local businesses and communities, and contributes to our provincial economy… By returning to the previous approach, hunters will continue to have access to the testing they value. I want to thank everyone who took the time to share their feedback with us. Over the next year, we will be working with hunters and stakeholders to ensure a solid program moving forward.”
Reporters pressed Rowden for answers on why the decision to axe testing was made in the first place, asking whether there was a lack of consultation.
“Listen, I'm recognizing that we made a mistake. Sometimes decisions get made with not all the right voices there,” Rowden said.
As for how the decision was made and the rationale behind it, Rowden said a “rash decision was made,” and that extra testing had been asked for, which “was going to cause extra money to be spent. It just morphed from there.” Rowden also said the decision had been made in “a day.”
The government also acknowledged receiving negative feedback on the decision. Rowden said that “different rural MLAs were telling me that they were getting calls or emails to their office. Mine was included.” She didn’t have a firm number on how many calls had been received, but said it was “probably 8-10 in mine alone.”
While the 2026-27 season will return to the approach used last year, Rowden said future seasons are “all going to greatly be impacted by the conversations we have with hunters in Saskatchewan wildlife and stakeholders that we affect.”
“What's going into that conversation on the government side? What's going into that conversation? One approach will be, how much mandatory testing do hunters feel we need in the province? There's one thing. We're going to be asking them what their opinion on mandatory testing is, and do we have the right zones, and things like that. I'm just open to hear what they bring to the table.”
Speaking to reporters, Opposition critic Trent Wotherspoon welcomed the move to reverse the earlier decision to cut testing.
“Well, listen, this was a really bad move made mid-hunting season with zero consultation with hunters in the province, so I'm really pleased to see the government come to their senses and reverse this senseless decision,” Wotherspoon told reporters.
“This is an important program that hunters rely on and provides important research, so I'm pleased to see this reversal. I guess I would just want to give a real shout-out to the hunters of the province, to the Wildlife Federation for being such a strong, clear voice on this, to the conservation officers within the province and so many others who spoke up against this very senseless, short-sighted decision that was made without any consultation and with significant consequences.”
Wotherspoon said what was “important here is that hunters across this province spoke up. The government has recognized that they made a big error on this front, I hope, and the program's been reinstated. There's been a reversal on this front, but it's not cool at all and a really bad move to have scrapped this program without any consultation with hunters mid-season and, you know, again, a program that provides really important value to hunting in Saskatchewan, very important research.”
