09/16/2026
Fellow advocate Derek Evans shared his letter to conservation and government officials regarding the gap in care for large wildlife in Manitoba and Canada with us.
Big thank you to him for taking this on, as there is currently no treatment or care available to such common animals. You can find his letter template below or write your own email to send in.
Contacts:
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[email protected]
Dear Minister, Officials, and Members of the Relevant Wildlife and Environment Departments,
I am writing to raise an urgent concern regarding the lack of rehabilitation options for large game animals, particularly large hoofed species such as deer, elk, and moose.
At present, there are significant restrictions on transporting wild animals across provincial borders because of concerns surrounding Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) and other wildlife diseases. While these regulations are intended to protect wildlife populations, they can create an unfortunate situation for individual animals that are orphaned, injured, or otherwise in need of rehabilitation. Wild animals themselves are not restricted by provincial borders and can naturally move across them.
The lack of suitable rehabilitation facilities creates an especially serious problem. When an injured or orphaned large game animal is reported to conservation authorities, there may be no practical rehabilitation option available. In circumstances where rehabilitation or relocation cannot legally occur, the animal may ultimately be euthanized even when the animal could potentially recover and return to the wild.
We respectfully ask the provincial and federal governments to consider developing a system that allows the safe and regulated movement of orphaned or injured large game animals for rehabilitation, while maintaining appropriate disease-control safeguards.
We believe the following measures should be considered:
* Establish or support properly licensed rehabilitation facilities capable of caring for large hoofed wildlife.
* Create a regulated exemption or permit system for the transportation of individual injured or orphaned animals across provincial borders when rehabilitation is not available locally.
* Require appropriate veterinary assessment, disease screening, quarantine, and biosecurity measures before animals are moved.
* Develop cooperation agreements between provinces so that wildlife emergencies are not determined solely by jurisdictional boundaries.
* Establish clear protocols for conservation officers, wildlife rehabilitators, veterinarians, and members of the public when an injured or orphaned animal is found.
* Consider alternatives to euthanasia when a qualified rehabilitation facility is willing and able to accept the animal safely.
* Review existing CWD-related regulations to determine whether carefully controlled provisions can be created for individual animals without compromising disease-prevention efforts.
We fully recognize the importance of preventing the spread of CWD and protecting Canada’s wild ungulate populations. Our request is not to weaken those protections. Rather, we are asking for a science-based, compassionate, and practical framework that distinguishes between uncontrolled movement of wildlife and the highly regulated transportation of an individual animal under professional supervision. It should be noted that there has been 0 confirmed cases of CWD to date in moose or elk here in Manitoba.
An injured or orphaned animal should not automatically face euthanasia simply because appropriate rehabilitation facilities are unavailable within the jurisdiction where it was found. Where a safe and professionally managed alternative exists, the law should provide a pathway to use it.
We respectfully request that provincial and federal officials review this issue and work together with wildlife rehabilitators, veterinarians, Indigenous communities, conservation organizations, and the public to develop practical solutions.
Canada has an opportunity to protect both the health of our wildlife populations and individual animals in distress. We ask you to help create a system in which rehabilitation is a possible option before euthanasia becomes the only option.
Thank you for your consideration. I would welcome the opportunity to discuss this issue further and support efforts toward a workable solution.
Respectfully,
(Your name)
