A fatal disease that affects the brains of deer and elk, Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), has not been found in wild animals in Saskatchewan.

This good news came from conservation officers with Saskatchewan Environment and Resource Management (SERM), after they had requested hunters to bring heads in from any deer they caught this year.

From the Weyburn region, only four heads were turned in, said conservation officer Lindsey Leko, including one elk and three deer, and all tested negative for CWD.

In addition SERM had sent in a couple of elk heads from local herds in September, and those also tested negative.

CWD is spread through contact, and is related to Mad Cow Disease, although there is no evidence that it can be transferred to humans, or to cattle or other domestic animals.

CWD had been found in elk herds in the west-central regions of the province; SERM was interested in knowing if the disease might have made its way into wild deer populations, especially north of Swift Current, north of Regina or further north in the province. There have been 430 heads collected province-wide, and no sign has been found of the disease in wild animals.