Ontario is surrounded by chronic wasting disease, but the fatal illness has yet to be detected among the province's wildlife

A fatal and untreatable disease was not detected among Ontario's wildlife in 2023, according to newly shared results from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF). But experts warn the province is far from being out of the woods when it comes to protecting animals from this threat.

Ontario's Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry has been monitoring for chronic wasting disease (CWD) since 2002. It's never been detected in the province, but cases of the disease continue to pop up through neighbouring Canadian provinces and US states.

"It's also been found in over 32 US states and five Canadian provinces. So Ontario is a little bit surrounded by CWD and that's really why we put so much focus on prevention here in the province, but also on surveillance," explained Larissa Nituch, science operations supervisor with the MNRF.

CWD is highly contagious, and affects the central nervous system of members of cervid, or the deer family. That includes white-tailed deer, elk, moose and caribou.

Late-stage symptoms leave the animals stumbling, unable to hold their heads up and salivating excessively, giving them an almost zombie-like appearance — which has led to chronic wasting disease sometimes being referred to as "zombie deer" disease.

In 2023, three regions of Ontario were chosen by the MNRF based on a surveillance risk model. Those high risk areas are then surveilled by crews who visit hunt camps to request samples from harvested deer.

In the last year, the province monitored northwestern Ontario, along with parts of central and southwestern Ontario.

'[It's] really good news that it wasn't detected this year. But we need to be vigilant," said Nituch. "We do really have a large landscape here in Ontario and so we need to be focusing our efforts where the risk is highest."

"But in addition to that annual surveillance, we also test sick or strange-acting members of the deer family from across the province at all times of year," she continued.

Response plan based on successful New York model

Nituch says Ontario's CWD plan also includes prevention measures for hunters, along with a response plan if and when the disease is detected.

"That plan is based on the best available science and also lessons that we've been able to learn from all those other jurisdictions that have come before us in terms of CWD response," she said.

Ontario's response plan is based on New York State's response plan, which is the only state to have successfully eliminated CWD after it was detected.

The Ontario chronic wasting disease prevention and response plan refers to the disease "as one of the most compelling wildlife management challenges in North America."

The concern is over a reduction in Ontario's deer population, which can have an effect on hunting.

"Analysis showed that if hunters stop hunting – or hunt less often – there will be wide-ranging economic losses. Hunters will spend less, creating a ripple effect throughout the Ontario economy," Ontario's management plan reads.

The threat of CWD in Ontario is closely monitored by the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters (OFAH), and it continues to drive home prevention messaging to its members.

"I think with every passing year we get more and more concerned … because the likelihood of CWD making its way into Ontario eventually is fairly high," said Mark Ryckman, wildlife biologist and manager of the policy section with the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters.

Ryckman said the government has implemented effective prevention measures, such as putting restrictions on the movement of live deer through the province, along with the prohibition on moving high-risk deer parts from other jurisdictions.

"But we also continue to lobby for things like the phase out of cervid farms in Ontario with adequate compensation for producers," explained Ryckman, adding the industry poses a risk to the biodiversity and the health of natural resources.

The Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters said it's a long standing supporter of the province's surveillance efforts, and recognizes the importance of hunter participation.

"Licensed hunters are really the backbone of the surveillance program because we provide the overwhelming majority of samples through harvested animals," he said. "And that helps to ensure that enough deer are tested in a given area to be reasonably confident that CWD is not present." 

The 2024 surveillance areas will cover areas through Owen Sound, down to Orangeville, along with Peterborough to Belleville, according to Nituch.

More information about hunter submitted samples can be found on the MNRF website. As well, hunters and members of the general public who see sick or strange acting animals in the cervid family are asked to report them to the Natural Resources Information Support Centre.