Saskatchewan hunting community ‘shocked’ about end to chronic wasting disease testing

Ken Erickson has been hunting in Saskatchewan since 1971. Chronic wasting disease was one of the main reasons he stopped pursuing certain animals.

As a provincial program comes to an end, other hunters are considering stopping, too.

The Saskatchewan government has decided to end its chronic wasting disease testing program after several years, due to low uptake from hunters. The disease affects the brains and nervous systems of cervids, such as deer, elk and moose.

Erickson says that while there have been no recorded cases of the disease on humans, his wife is immunocompromised, and he was not willing to risk his family’s safety.

“I just don’t want to bring that into the house. I’m just not taking chances like that,” he said.

Erickson was born in Thunder Bay, Ont. He started hunting when he was eight years old and was the first member of his family to become a hunter. 

Since he moved to Regina in the ’70s, he has gained vast experience hunting in the prairies. He has published content to help other hunters and has worked as a guide in northern Saskatchewan and northern Alberta.

Erickson continues hunting, mainly for birds. He says that with age, handling big game became very difficult to do by himself. But he would hunt some other animals if CWD was not a risk.

“I would like to hunt deer again,” he said. “If this were just a science-based decision, then I would find it more acceptable. But I think it’s more a politically based decision.”

Others have also criticized the province’s decision. 

Darrell Crabbe is the executive director of the Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation. He says the testing program was vital for the community. For some hunters, including himself, it became a safety net to ensure meat was safe for consumption, he said.

The province says environment ministry staff will continue to monitor wildlife health and population using other methods. (CBC News)

“For myself, it’s one thing, but certainly not for my grandchildren or my children or my friends,” Crabbe said of the risk.

Environment ministry staff will continue to monitor wildlife health and population using other methods, the provincial government says.

The disease has been found in 63 of Saskatchewan’s 83 wildlife zones since the province started collecting this data.

The testing was mandatory in zones 43, 47, 49, 50, 53 and 55-69. The government said samples from mandatory testing zones that are submitted by Oct. 31 will still be processed.

Samples from voluntary submission zones will not be tested.

Crabbe says the wildlife federation centre in Moose Jaw received samples throughout the year, but there was some criticism about the logistics and efficacy of the program.

“A lot of times there’s, you know, several weeks delay in getting a response back,” he said.

“That certainly is something that we were hoping was going to get worked on and shortened.”

Ryan Brook is a professor in the department of animal and poultry science at the University of Saskatchewan. He told CBC’s The 306 that the program had challenges, but the termination caught him by surprise.

“You don’t cancel a program because you’re having challenges, you fix the program and keep it going,” Brook said.

“This is vital information.”

He said there was no previous consultation on the effects of suspending the program.

“Hunters are shocked. [They] are saying none of the hunting groups were consulted. This decision fell out of the sky right in the middle of the deer-hunting season.”

Erickson fears hunters might now choose to abandon a carcass, increasing the possibility of the disease spreading. He also worries younger animals might be increasingly targeted, as there’s a common belief that they are less likely to carry the disease.

The potential consequences

Crabbe says 30 per cent of sales from all hunting, fishing and trapping licences sold by the Saskatchewan government go to the Fish and Wildlife Development Fund, from which about $300,000 to $450,000 a year is spent on the chronic wasting disease program. 

As of Friday morning, he had received some calls from hunters who have decided to hang up their gear for good after the decision. 

“I’m getting a lot of those conversations today, [saying] now that [if] they’re not going to allow us to test our harvested animals, then it’s time for me to quit hunting.”

Crabbe says the financial repercussions of the decision might have been overlooked.

“At the end of the day, the financial loss will be much, much greater than the small investment they were putting in for chronic wasting disease.”

Brooke says the government needs to take the issue seriously and commit to take action beyond data collection, such as banning baiting and addressing issues of transmission.

Researcher Ryan Brooks there was no consultation on the effects of cancelling the program. (Submitted by Ken Erickson)

Crabbe added that the hunting community is putting pressure on the government to reinstate the program and called for the province to create a wildlife advisory committee to improve co-ordination for 2027.

“I’m disappointed. The better thing is to deal with the problem,” Erickson said. “I would still like to hunt the area.”