The BC Wildlife Health Program is happy to report that the Kootenay CWD samples from October and early November (479 samples) have all come back negative! These results are now posted on the website: http://www.gov.bc.ca/chronicwastingdisease
Mandatory submission of deer along the BC-Montana border is finished for the season. Over 1000 heads have now been submitted from the Kootenay Region. Submission numbers have also been good in the Peace Region and the Okanagan, with a number of new drop off locations established this season.
Thank you to the BCWF and clubs for donating and hosting freezers. We are grateful to all of the hunters that have participated and continue to support the Program. And thanks to all of our partners, regional wildlife staff and Conservation Officers for really stepping up to help in the delivery of enhanced surveillance this fall.
The hunting season is wrapping up, but CWD testing will continue through the winter with the last of the hunter samples, road kills and any cervid presenting with CWD-like symptoms. We will need more samples and will need to sustain this level of surveillance to maintain confidence in healthy wildlife populations - so let’s continue to be proactive and protect B.C.’s deer, elk, moose and caribou from CWD.
Lastly, I would like to acknowledge our regional CWD coordinators, Brian Paterson (Peace) and Jeff Berdusco (Kootenay) for their tremendous efforts and dedication to the Program! We could not do this without you!