Sask. reverses CWD testing cut

October 25, 2026

Key points from this story:

• Saskatchewan planned to cancel CWD testing
• Decision cited budget constraints
• Health Canada advises against infected meat
• Opposition NDP criticized the cancellation
• Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation objected
• Government reversed to keep testing this year

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Saskatchewan updates CWD testing for 2026-27

The Government of Saskatchewan has updated the chronic wasting disease (CWD) testing approach for the 2026-27 hunting season, which includes mandatory testing in designated areas and voluntary testing elsewhere in the province, consistent with the approach used in 2025-26.

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Like most decisions from government, this one appears to have simply been about money. Environment minister Darlene Rowden came out earlier this month saying a request for more money for mandatory testing in some wildlife management zones had resulted in the entire program being cancelled.

Now, one can certainly appreciate budget dollars are finite and decisions must be made - ask most working families dealing with rising fuel prices, food prices, water utility costs, etc.

But in the case of CWD testing, it is also very much about the health of Saskatchewan wildlife.

And this is about wildlife in particular as there appears no documented evidence humans are infected by eating infected meat although Health Canada recommends against consumption, which would seem a rather common sense recommendation.

Not surprisingly the opposition NDP quickly voiced concerns over the program cut.

"Cutting the program takes away the sense of security many hunters look for to ensure that they aren't putting themselves or their families at risk," said Shadow Environment Minister Jared Clarke via a party release.

For those not familiar, chronic wasting disease affects white-tail deer, mule deer, elk and moose. It is a prion disease, similar to bovine spongiform encephalopathy, and is fatal in animals.

A disease that threatens a group of wildlife which are actually rather important economically in terms of dollars invested by hunters each year would seem to be one that demands close monitoring.

Executive Director Darrell Crabbe with the Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation was among those who said the termination of the program without consultation undermined decades of hunter-led sample collection, while also reducing disease-tracking data.

The SWF also thanks its members, branches and hunters throughout Saskatchewan who contacted their MLAs and voiced their concerns about the program's cancellation, noted the organization in a release.

The SWF also noted "hunters have supported CWD surveillance for decades by submitting samples from harvested animals. Their participation helps researchers and wildlife managers better understand the disease's distribution and prevalence across the province."

Again, the NDP were also among those rallying to the cause for wildlife.

"This is the kind of thoughtless decision, without any engagement or respect for those that will be impacted," said Associate Shadow Minister of Agriculture Trent Wotherspoon via a release. "This is a backwards move without consultation with hunters that hurts hunting in our province by the Sask. Party government that's grown out entitled and out of touch."

"Ever since this senseless decision was made, I have been inundated with messages from rightfully upset fellow hunters who feel that Scott Moe and the Sask. Party have pulled the rug out from under them in the middle of the season and without respect for the impacts and risk."

Now the good news - well, at least in the short term.

The Saskatchewan government has since announced it will keep its chronic wasting disease testing program for at least this year.

In the reversal the government will offer the same program as last year while it consults on how best to move forward.

That is good news, and in the proper direction in this case, and the Saskatchewan Party earns a half pat-on-the-back for the short-term program reprieve.

To get a full pat-on-the-back they need a long term plan that keeps the health of our wildlife at the forefront, not the cost of the programming.