Spreading Wildlife Disease Threatens Deer, Elk—and Maybe Humans, New Research Says

A deer is seen at the Michel-Chartrand Park in Longueuil, Que., on Nov. 13, 2020. The continuing spread of a fatal wildlife disease in Alberta and Saskatchewan has a federal agency recommending a deer cull across a wide swath of the Prairies. The Canadian Press/Paul Chiasson

EDMONTON—The continuing spread of a fatal wildlife disease in Alberta and Saskatchewan has a federal agency recommending a deer cull across a wide swath of the Prairies.

And soon-to-be-published research on chronic wasting disease has raised new fears about whether the illness could infect humans.