SASKATCHEWAN BLACK POWDER ASSOCIATION INC.
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Reports and information needed for the WAC reps will be posted here. Please check every so often to see if anything new has been posted.
SBPA Committee members are R. Schultz and E. Marles. Chronic wasting Disease member is Cuyler Onclin
Please note that the spring bear and geese hunting supplements are available on the GOS website at http://www.saskatchewan.ca/residents/parks-recreation-heritage-and-arts/hunting-trapping-and-angling/hunting. We will add the big game draw supplements to this page prior to the May 1st opening of the draw.
Note: the map at end of Final report (above) - the dark red highlights the 11 new zones found with CWD in 2017 and the lighter red shows all the zones that have been identified with CWD previously.
Summary:
Eleven new CWD positive WMZs this year. Below are the results from the last three years...note the increase in diagnostics (deer submitted by Ministry of Environment) suggests a rise in sick deer that COs are responding to.
2015 2016 2017
Total tested 245 367 825
Pos. Hunter 19/202 (10%) 30/325 (10%) 78/754 (10%)
Pos. Diagnostics 7/43 (16%) 10/42 (24%) 18/71 (25%)
New WMZs 4 1 11
The above percentages are not evenly spread throughout the province. In WMZ 13, 79% of all mule deer sampled were positive for CWD. Our sample sizes are low for all individual zones so this does not equate to true prevalence but does raise concerns.
Confirming that CWD is a new disease on SK’s landscape – consider the following data:
CWD positives 1997-2003: 12 positives out of 11,221 samples (<1% positive)
CWD positives 2017: 96 / 825 samples (~12%)
Research is underway by Trent’s lab, in this region in order to better understand the population dynamics of mule deer and factors affecting infection. With a such a high prevalence in hunted deer, population effects are expected. This study will continue for at least 5 years and will complement studies in other jurisdictions which are in the planning stages.
Map in CWD final report for 2017 (above).
CWD Programming - Fall 2017
Your assistance in helping raise awareness of CWD and the need for hunters to participate in this year’s CWD surveillance program is needed! Note that we have a new online system this year for which hunters can obtain a unique CWD identification number and receive their CWD results – please see attached CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE SURVEILLANCE for more information. The online system can be accessed by your smart phone and is located at http://cwdsk.ca
PLEASE help spread the word by posting the attached information on your website, facebook, email to your group members etc. In addition, your assistance in distributing attached the posters to your local abattoirs and taxidermists would be a great help!!!
Below are a few news articles that may be of interest:
http://www.wrn.com/2017/09/uw-lab-urges-hunters-to-test-deer-for-cwd/
Many thanks for your support to find solutions to CWD!
Mike Gollop
Government of Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment
Fish, Wildlife and Lands Branch
112 Research Drive, Saskatoon SK S7N 3R3
(306) 933-5767 Fax (306) 933-5773 Cell (306) 222-7906
To all who care about wildlife habitat lands:
There is an opportunity for the public to comment on selling off Saskatchewan Pastures, which is a potentially serious problem for wildlife habitat preservation and hunter access. Protective covenants are only as good as the enforcement of protection. History would tell us that enforcement of protection, once the land is sold privately, is unlikely.
Public consultation opportunity ends May 8.
Couger and bear trapping season
http://www.saskatchewan.ca/government/news-and-media/2017/july/05/cougar-and-bear-trapping-season
Tularemia
Most of you will know that Tularemia is endemic in SK but you may not know that two cases were recently reported in Saskatoon. A jack rabbit and a squirrel confirmed Monday. Although human cases are rare (0-1 per year) in SK, our incidence contributes to 11% of the nationally reported cases. We have had a cluster of illness associated with trappers.
Dr. Trent Bollinger with Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative wrote a brief blog about this which was posted yesterday. http://blog.healthywildlife.ca/ This article gives some additional information including precautions to take when handling animals.