Released on November 14, 2002
A test done in Saskatoon indicates there may be another case of ChronicWasting Disease (CWD) in a wild deer in Saskatchewan.
The suspicious case was found in a two-year-old mule deer buck taken this
fall southeast of Saskatchewan Landing Provincial Park near Stewart
Valley. Earlier this month the province's fourth case of Chronic Wasting
Disease was found in a mule deer taken in the northwest corner of
Saskatchewan Landing Provincial Park.
The suspicious sample was tested at the Canadian Co-operative Wildlife
Health Centre in Saskatoon and has since been sent to a lab in Napean,
Ontario for confirmation. Results are expected within the next week. If
confirmed, this will be the fifth case of CWD discovered in the province's
wild deer. The three positive cases found before this fall had all been
taken in the Manito Sandhills near Lloydminster.
If confirmed, the Herd Reduction Area currently in effect near Saskatchewan
Landing Provincial Park will be expanded to include the area around where
the animal was found. Revised maps will be made available to people
hunting in the area.
Over the past four years Saskatchewan Environment has tested approximately
5,500 samples from across the province.
This fall, Saskatchewan Environment is asking hunters from across the
province to turn in the heads of animals they take for testing for CWD.
Current science indicates that CWD cannot be transferred to humans or to
domestic livestock.
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For more information, contact:
Kevin Omoth
Environment
Regina
Phone: (306) 787- 8102