OCTOBER 16, 2026
SWF Stunned by Provincial Government’s Termination of CWD Testing Program
The Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation (SWF) is stunned by the Government of Saskatchewan’s decision to terminate its Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) Surveillance Program effective October 31, 2026, and is calling for its immediate reinstatement.
After decades of testing, research and hunter participation, the decision removes an important tool for monitoring a disease that continues to threaten Saskatchewan’s wildlife.
“Hunters have spent years submitting samples and supporting efforts to better understand CWD,” said Darrell Crabbe, SWF Executive Director. “Ending this program undermines that work and leaves hunters with fewer resources to make informed decisions about the animals they harvest.”
CWD was first detected in Saskatchewan in a farmed elk in 1996 and in wild deer in 2000. Saskatchewan became the first province to detect the disease in wild deer and remains at the centre of a serious wildlife health challenge. Neighbouring Alberta and Manitoba also operate surveillance programs to monitor the disease and guide their response.
The SWF is particularly concerned that provincial funding for laboratory testing of eligible game-farmed animals continues while the surveillance program serving hunters and wild cervid populations is being discontinued.
According to SWF figures, the provincial wildlife testing program costs approximately $450,000 annually, with more than $300,000 coming from the Fish and Wildlife Development Fund (FWDF), which receives a portion of hunting and angling licence revenues.
Hunters and anglers generate approximately $15 million annually through licence sales, with approximately $10 million directed to general revenue. The SWF questions why a program supported substantially by licence-funded conservation dollars is being eliminated.
“Hunters and anglers already contribute millions of dollars each year through their licence purchases,” said Crabbe. “Continuing to invest a portion of those dollars in CWD testing is a reasonable expectation. Saskatchewan’s wildlife deserves sustained attention, and hunters deserve access to a program they help fund.”
Testing provides information about where CWD occurs and how its prevalence changes over time. Ending surveillance will reduce the information available to hunters, researchers and wildlife managers working to understand and respond to the disease.
The SWF strongly urges hunters and everyone concerned about Saskatchewan’s wildlife to contact their local MLA, express their disappointment and call for reinstatement of the provincial CWD testing program.
“The government needs to hear directly from the people affected by this decision,” said Crabbe. “We urge hunters to make their voices heard and ask their MLA to support restoring this essential program.”
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For media inquiries, please contact:
SWF Media Inquiries
Darrell Crabbe, Acting Executive Director
306-692-8812
dcrabbe@swf.sk.ca