CFIA updates management of CWD in farmed cervids

Oct 27, 2026 | 3:20 PM

The Canadian Food inspection Agency (CFIA) is updating its national chronic wasting disease (CWD) program to improve disease risk management in farmed cervids and better meet the needs of partners and stakeholders.

CFIA said it is providing three months’ advance notice before implementation of the new program to give producers and other stakeholders time to prepare for the changes.

The current program, launched in 2019, was designed to control CWD through prevention and early detection in farmed cervid herds. CWD has continued to spread into new areas of Canada, underscoring the need to update its approach.

Consultations were held with farmers and stakeholders in the fall of 2025. CFIA received 63 submissions from federal, provincial and territorial government partners, national and provincial cervid industry associations and lobby groups, cervid producers, hunters, Indigenous organizations, and private veterinarians.

Roughly 60 per cent of responses were received from individuals, groups or organizations located in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

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In response to information that was gathered, CFIA will implement two elements of the new program on Jan. 20.

The CFIA will recognize regional CWD status in wild and farmed cervid populations for the purposes of CWD risk management. The CFIA will consider CWD to be established in Alberta and Saskatchewan, emerging in Manitoba and parts of British Columbia and not detected in the rest of Canada.

The CFIA’s CWD response measures, including whole-herd destruction and compensation will no longer be linked to enrollment in a CWD Herd Certification Program anywhere in Canada.

CFIA will provide farmed cervid producers and partners with updates, guidance and support on the new program requirements related to regional risk categories before they take effect in the new year.

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alice.mcfarlane@pattisonmedia.com

by Alice McFarlane

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CFIA updates management of CWD in farmed cervids

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