The B.C. Wildlife Federation is urging the provincial government to increase funding for surveillance and testing after a third case of Chronic Wasting Disease was detected in a deer near Cranbrook.

“CWD is becoming more prevalent since two cases were detected earlier this year,” said BCWF Executive Director Jesse Zeman. “Cranbrook and other towns in the East Kootenay are perfect vectors for CWD as they have high densities of urban deer.”

The BCWF is concerned that chronic underfunding will hamper efforts to detect and contain this fatal disease. No additional dedicated funding was allocated for CWD in the last provincial budget.

“Urban deer populations in towns like Kimberley, Cranbrook and Creston need to be dramatically reduced immediately and the province needs a dedicated funding mechanism to ensure that we can adequately address this problem,” he said.

“Hunters have been actively engaged in sampling and turning in heads to do their part to identify prevalence and continue to be diligent about following new transporation of cervids, such as deer, elk and moose,” Zeman noted. “Along with greater cooperation from hunters, testing turnaround times have improved.”

The BCWF believes that urban deer populations should be aggressively reduced as they are a significant vector for the spread of CWD. Unfortunately, little testing has been done on urban deer populations.

e-KNOW file photo

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