Saskatchewan’s Environment Ministry is issuing a final call to late season hunters for chronic wasting disease testing on this year’s hunt. Samples submitted by the province’s hunters are the primary means of detecting the presence and measuring the prevalence of the disease. Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a fatal, infectious disease of deer, elk, reindeer and moose (cervids) that affects the central nervous system. Of the samples submitted last season, a total of 466 tested positive, including five elk, five moose, 121 white-tailed deer and 355 mule deer.

The final day for hunters to submit samples for CWD testing is Friday, January 21. Drop off depots in west central Saskatchewan include a self serve one in Leader at 314 1st Avenue W, behind Miller Auto Tech, and another self serve one at the Saskatchewan Landing Provincial Park when temperatures are below freezing. Information is available from the Ministry of Environment website at https://www.saskatchewan.ca/hunting.