Testing deer for CWD – Ontario OUT of DOORS
Testing for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in 2024 will be carried out in two zones once again this fall Zone 1 (Wildlife Management Units (WMUs) 68A, 71, 74A, 74B) is in the Belleville and Peterborough areas of southern Ontario. Zone 2 (WMUs 81A, 81B, 82A, 82B, 82C, 84, 85B) is in the Owen Sound, Orangeville and Kincardine areas of western Ontario.
The MNR is asking hunters in these WMUs to submit deer samples to help researchers determine the disease’s status. The first 500 hunters in each zone to submit a sample will receive a collectible crest.
CWD is a fatal and untreatable disease that affects the central nervous system of members of the deer family or “cervids” (such as white-tailed deer, American elk, moose, and woodland caribou).
There is no cure or vaccine, and it has the potential to devastate cervid populations.
Originally discovered in Colorado in 1967, it has now been detected in more than 35 US states and Alberta, Saskatchewan, Québec, Manitoba, and British Columbia. It has been found in every province and US state that borders Ontario.
Once present in wild cervids, it is very difficult to contain.
The MNR has been monitoring deer in Ontario since 2002 and tested more than 15,300 samples.
Thus far, no evidence has been found to suggest the disease is present in Ontario’s wildlife.
For more info or to submit a sample from one of these WMUs, call 1-888-574-6656.
Or visit: www.ontario.ca/page/chronic-wasting-disease#surveillanceareas