The rifle deer season is set to open in a few days but the list of places to hunt has gone down after the first case of chronic wasting disease was found in a deer that had to be euthanized.
The unhealthy male mule deer was discovered on October 14 and he was euthanized as a part of the province's wildlife health surveillance program. While the disease poses no threat to humans, it is fatal to infected animals and has no cure.
It affects a variety of animals including deer, elk, caribou and moose. It causes drastic weight loss, stumbling and other neurologic symptoms. In some cases, infected animals can appear healthy until the later stages of the disease.
As a result, the provincial government has called for an immediate ban on hunting deer and other animals in parts of southwestern Manitoba. Boundaries have yet to be finalized; however, they will include at least a portion of Game Hunting Area 22. Again, no boundaries have been set; however, Game Hunting Area 22 includes Binscarth, Rossburn, and north of Minnedosa.
The area in all stretches from Brandon north and west to the Saskatchewan border.
We have reached out to Manitoba Wildlife for more. Stay tuned in the coming days to find out exactly what areas you can't hunt in.
