Deer hunt in January in southeast B.C. found no new wasting disease cases: government

The B.C. government says a deer hunt in Cranbrook last month saw 228 animals killed, but none of them showed infection for chronic wasting disease.

The Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship says the hunt through most of January was held near the city to collect samples and reduce the spread of the deadly disease in local deer and elk populations.

The ministry says most of the animals killed in the hunt were white-tailed deer.

It says surveillance in B.C.’s Kootenay region is ongoing as the disease is considered the “most significant” threat to deer, elk and moose populations.

The first cases of the disease were detected in the region in January 2024, and samples submitted by hunters this season turned up three more infections in white-tailed deer.

It says the province has confirmed nine cases so far of chronic wasting, an incurable disease that spreads through direct contact and contaminated environments.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 26, 2026.