Hunters and wildlife enthusiasts in Outlook and the surrounding area are being warned of a disease affecting the local deer population that is causing concern among conservation officials in the province.
The condition known as 鈥渃hronic wasting disease鈥� (CWD) is said to be prevalent in the deer population that make their home in the rural outskirts of the Outlook area.聽 CWD is a progressive, degenerative and fatal disease of the brain of free-ranging or farmed cervids such as elk, mule deer, white-tailed deer and moose.
Elk and deer with CWD may not exhibit observable signs of disease for a number of years. 聽Eventually, as more brain tissue is affected, animals may exhibit loss of condition, excessive salivation, trouble swallowing, difficulty in judging distance, changes in behaviour and drooping ears.
Evidence suggests that infected deer and elk likely transmit the disease through contamination of water, soil and feed by saliva, urine and/or feces. 聽CWD seems more likely to occur where elk or deer are crowded or where they congregate at man-made feed and water stations. 聽A heavily contaminated environment can be a source of infection.
The disease is not known to affect humans.
A photo submitted to The Outlook by Lynda Stevenson shows a local deer suffering the effects of the disease, such as hair and weight loss and possible loss of equilibrium, with what looks like a droopy head.聽 Sadly, the animal is in a state of suffering.
When deer contract CWD, they only have short window of time to live, and when they die in the outdoors, their remains can possibly contaminate the soil on the ground for years.聽 The only way to potentially minimize the threat of CWD continuing to spread is to remove the affected animals as soon as possible.
At this time, it鈥檚 said that only deer are at a high risk of contracting chronic wasting disease.
Anyone who sees a deer exhibiting symptoms or showing the physical signs of CWD is asked to contact their local Conservation Officer.聽 In Outlook, the phone number is 306-867-5563.
