Following calls from the Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation, alongside countless other organizations and individuals, to bring back the chronic wasting disease testing program, the Province has reconsidered its decision.  

Premier Scott Moe first announced that the program would cease to exist as of October 31st following a budget decision. However, after significant clap back, Moe now states that the program will continue, status quo, with mandatory testing in certain zones and voluntary testing in others.  

Acting Executive Director for the Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation Darrell Crabbe says the program costs $450,000 annually to operate, $140,000 of which is taxpayer-funded, but what Moe thought would have saved him money would’ve just ended up costing him much more in the long run if people weren’t able to test their animals. 

“The Province makes just over $10.5 million a year off of license sales…so the loss in license revenue alone would far outweigh what the $140,000 investment in the testing would have been.” 

He explains that likely very few hunters will risk feeding their families infected meat. 

“The heritage activity of hunting, for me, is about family and friends. We all hunt together. We all process meat together. We all make sausage and consume it, but I don’t want to risk feeding potentially CWD-infected meat to my grandchildren, and I won’t.” 

He says discussions continue on how to save money in 2027.  

In a written release, the Province stated that, “The revised approach will allow the ministry to continue collecting information about the prevalence and distribution of CWD, support wildlife health monitoring and provide individual hunters with the status of submitted samples. Hunters required to submit samples must continue to follow the requirements that apply to the wildlife management zone, species and license under which the animal was harvested.”