Twelve cases of chronic wasting disease have now been found in wild deer in Saskatchewan, including 10 this past year alone.
Dave Brewster, manager of resource allocation with Saskatchewan Environment, said all came from the Saskatchewan Landing, Manitou Sand Hills and Paradise Hill areas.
Brewster is not surprised by the numbers, given that more than 10,000 deer samples have been collected since 1997.
“If you found one, you’re likely to find others,” he said.
A mid-winter hunt in the Saskat-chewan Landing Park for white-tailed and mule deer concluded March 31. Saskatchewan Environment ordered the hunt to reduce herd numbers and provide samples for testing for CWD, a fatal brain disease.
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More hunts in focused areas are planned, Brewster said, with a longer season and more quotas. The department asks hunters to turn in their deer heads for CWD testing.
Brewster said it is difficult to tell how CWD entered the wild population.
“There is no conclusive proof of where it started,” he said.
In addition to wild deer, CWD has affected 40 herds of farmed elk in Saskatchewan and Alberta and one herd of farmed deer in Alberta.
