Third Case of Chronic Wasting Disease Confirmed in B.C. Deer

The fatal prion disease, which affects deer and other cervids, has now been found three times in the Kootenay region this year, prompting calls for urban deer population control.

• Chronic wasting disease (CWD), an incurable and fatal illness affecting deer and other cervids, has been confirmed in a white-tailed deer in British Columbia's Kootenay region, bringing the province's total cases to three in 2024.
• The disease, caused by abnormal proteins called prions, damages the central nervous system of infected animals and has been spreading across Western Canada in recent years.
• The B.C. Wildlife Federation has called for an aggressive cull of urban deer populations in towns like Cranbrook, Kimberley, and Creston, citing their role in facilitating the disease's spread.
• The provincial government has implemented measures such as enhanced hunting regulations, a surveillance program, and mandatory testing in designated zones to curb the disease's spread.
• There is no evidence that CWD can infect humans, but health authorities recommend against consuming meat from infected animals as a precautionary measure.

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