British ColumbiaThe B.C. government says it is investigating a potential case of chronic wasting disease in a deer harvested in the Okanagan region. If the disease is confirmed, the province says it would be the first detection in B.C. outside an existing management zone in the Kootenay area.Chronic wasting disease is a fatal, infectious illness affecting cervids like deer, elk, moose and caribouThe Canadian Press · Posted: Nov 24, 2025 9:29 PM EST | Last Updated: 2 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 3 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.The province says it’s investigating a potential case of chronic wasting disease in a deer east of Enderby — the first suspected detection in the Okanagan and the first identified outside the province’s established CWD management zone in the Kootenay region. (Mitchell Kincaid Cook)The B.C. government says it is investigating a potential case of chronic wasting disease in a deer harvested in the Okanagan region.If the disease is confirmed, the province says it would be the first detection of the so-called “zombie deer disease” in B.C. outside an existing management zone in the Kootenay area.A statement from the Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship says a hunter submitted a sample taken from the white-tailed deer killed east of Enderby and the results of initial testing suggested the disease may be present.It says the sample has been submitted for further testing by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, with results expected by early December.Chronic wasting disease is an infectious and fatal illness affecting species such as deer, elk, moose and caribou.While there is no direct evidence the disease can be transmitted to humans and there have been no cases in humans, the ministry says Health Canada and the World Health Organization recommend people not eat the meat of an infected animal.Hunters who kill deer in designated areas in B.C. must submit samples at a designated freezer before leaving the area. (Daniel Thomas/Radio-Canada)There have been six confirmed cases of the disease in B.C., it says.The province has adopted several measures recently to monitor and prevent its spread, including mandatory testing for harvested deer, moose and elk in the Kootenay region as well as restrictions around transporting carcasses.WATCH | Cases of chronic wasting disease spurs cull of urban deer in B.C.:B.C. set to cull hundreds of deer to curb deadly deer disease in the East KootenaysA fifth case of a deadly deer disease has been found near Cranbrook. The first case was identified last January in the East Kootenay region and more continue to pop up. The province says it’s working to manage the spread. As CBC’s Corey Bullock reports, B.C. says it’s set to cull 200 deer in Cranbrook and Kimberley to test for the disease.The ministry says people outside that region are strongly encouraged to submit samples in order to understand where the disease is present.The B.C. Wildlife Federation executive director Jesse Zeman said in a statement that it’s important that hunters submit samples for testing, even outside the mandatory zone in the Kootenays, to help manage the situation.The provincial wildlife veterinarian has put together a team to prepare for potential next steps ahead of the test results by the CFIA, the province adds. Chronic wasting disease is a fatal infection caused by an abnormal protein called a prion. Prion diseases are a family of rare neurodegenerative disorders that can be found in both humans and animals, impairing brain function. Perhaps the best known example is bovine spongiform encephalopathy, commonly referred to as mad cow disease.
B.C. investigating possible case of ‘zombie deer disease’ in Okanagan
