Saskatchewan returns to 2025-26 CWD testing approach for hunters

The Government of Saskatchewan has returned to its 2025-26 approach to chronic wasting disease (CWD) testing for the 2026-27 hunting season, according to a provincial news release dated October 22, 2026.

Under that approach, testing is mandatory in designated wildlife management zones and voluntary in the rest of the province. Hunters can still send eligible samples to the ministry’s existing CWD testing program. The ministry will also still test samples it accepted earlier, among them ones that arrived from voluntary zones.

The release says the change responds to hunters, who told the government that testing helps them decide whether to eat harvested wild game. Environment Minister Darlene Rowden said the government heard that message. Rowden said going back to the earlier approach gives hunters information for their decisions and keeps surveillance data available for wildlife management.

The release says the approach also lets the ministry keep gathering information on how common CWD is and where it occurs, supports wildlife health monitoring, and tells individual hunters the status of the samples they submit. The release does not report new test results or any change in the disease’s presence in Saskatchewan.

Hunters who must submit samples need to keep following the rules for the zone, species and licence tied to their harvest. The release does not name the designated zones.

Hunters will be told the updated requirements by October 31, 2026. Hunters can find submission locations, eligible species and updates at Saskatchewan.ca/CWD.