Local deer hunters are being asked for help by the province.
The Ontario government is calling on hunters to submit samples from harvested white-tailed deer to the Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) surveillance program.
CWD is a fatal, untreatable brain disease affecting members of the deer family, including white-tailed deer, elk, moose and caribou. The disease has not been found in Ontario wildlife, but has been detected in all five U.S. states bordering Ontario, as well as British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Québec.
The Ministry of Natural Resources is targeting two regions throughout the hunting season, including Southwestern and Central Ontario.
During the fall hunt, ministry wildlife technicians will be canvassing these surveillance areas and asking hunters’ permission to remove a small amount of tissue from deer heads for testing. This sampling will not interfere with hunters processing their harvest, consuming the meat or having the deer head mounted.
All hunters within the surveillance areas are encouraged to take the head of their deer (preferably within a few days of being harvested) to an MNR freezer depot. Depots will be open from early October to mid-December.
To learn more about CWD and efforts to keep the disease out of Ontario, visit ontario.ca/CWD.
