Saskatchewan wildlife news — days after announcing its chronic wasting disease surveillance program would end October 31, the Government of Saskatchewan reversed course on October 22 and restored CWD testing Saskatchewan hunters demanded, keeping mandatory testing in designated wildlife management zones for the 2026-27 hunting season.
By Maplestime Environment Desk | Saskatchewan, Canada | October 23, 2026
Sources: Saskatchewan government news release via EIN News, SaskAgToday | Last updated: October 23, 2026
Key Takeaways
- Saskatchewan restored chronic wasting disease testing for the 2026-27 hunting season after announcing it would end October 31.
- Testing stays mandatory in designated wildlife management zones and voluntary everywhere else, matching the 2025-26 approach.
- The reversal followed a week of backlash from hunters, the Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation and the opposition NDP.
- Environment Minister Darlene Rowden said the province heard clearly from hunters that access to CWD testing matters to their families.
- CWD is a fatal prion disease found in 63 of Saskatchewan’s 83 wildlife zones; there are no known human cases.
What CWD testing Saskatchewan Looks Like After the Reversal
The government had announced the CWD surveillance program would shut down at the end of October, citing low hunter uptake as the reason. That decision lasted less than a week. After a flood of pushback from hunters, the Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation and the opposition NDP, Environment Minister Darlene Rowden announced October 22 that the testing program would be restored for the 2026-27 hunting season.
“We heard clearly from hunters that access to CWD testing matters to them and their families,” Rowden said.
The restored program keeps the same structure hunters used last season: testing is mandatory in designated wildlife management zones and voluntary in the rest of the province. The Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation had said it was “stunned” by the original cut and demanded the program’s reinstatement, while the NDP pressed the government to reverse the decision publicly.
Why Hunters Pushed Back So Hard
Chronic wasting disease is a fatal prion disease that attacks deer, elk and moose, and Saskatchewan has been watching it spread for years. The disease is now confirmed in 63 of the province’s 83 wildlife zones. For hunters who fill their freezers each fall, testing is the difference between eating the meat with confidence and guessing.
The province pointed to low participation as the reason for ending the program. Hunters answered that the program mattered too much to lose, and the pressure worked. Keeping surveillance in place also gives biologists the data they need to track where the disease is moving, which matters far beyond this season.
Related: Saskatchewan CWD Testing 2026: Hunters Furious as Program Ends Mid Season
What Hunters Need to Know for the 2026-27 Season
Hunters harvesting deer, elk or moose in designated wildlife management zones must still submit heads for CWD testing. Outside those zones, testing remains voluntary but available. Because CWD testing Saskatchewan surveillance data guides where zones are drawn next year, every submitted sample matters. There have been no known human cases of CWD, but health officials advise against eating meat from animals that test positive.
The bigger takeaway from this week: Saskatchewan’s hunting community spoke up and the government listened. A program that was dead on paper October 31 is alive for the full season. That is a rare and welcome sight in provincial wildlife policy.
Maplestime will provide updates from the CWD testing Saskatchewan program as announcements are made during the 2026-27 hunting season.
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Should the province have tried to kill the CWD testing program in the first place, or was the backlash a fair price for a government that forgot who fills the freezers? Tell us in the comments. And share this with every Saskatchewan hunter you know.
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