Co-habitation
Candle Lake is located in one of the most beautiful locations in the Boreal Forrest of Saskatchewan. Co-habitation with the local wildlife is something we all appreciate and love, but needs to be done respectfully to ensure the health and safety for all.
Animal Control Bylaw
The Resort Village has been receiving an increasing number of calls about sightings of coyotes and wolves in the community. Predators are attracted into the community in search of food. This can include garbage that has been left out, or small pets or other domesticated animals. In addition, predators prey on other wildlife that may live or be attracted to the community. Council has passed an Animal Control Bylaw that will regulate the type of animals that can be raised in the community and restrict the practice of feeding wildlife that can encourage or attract wildlife into the community.
Feeding Wildlife Information
Supplemental feeding can often be problematic to wildlife health:
- Artificial congregation of deer through supplemental feeding can increase the risk of tick and disease transmission, including transmission of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). Currently, CWD has not been detected in the Candle Lake region (WMZ 64).
- When deer eat rich food such as oats or hay, which is not part of their normal winter diet they often cannot digest it and they may end up starving to death due to a process called rumen acidosis (i.e. similar to bloat in cattle).
- Artificial congregation of deer can increase predation rates, as predators are drawn to areas with high deer density.
- Thick winter coats, fat reserves, and reduced metabolic rates help many deer survive long winters. Other adaptations such as migration into winter or summer habitats can also mitigate the effects of winter on deer.
- Winter wildlife mortality is natural. It can even be beneficial to the long-term health of wildlife populations. For example, sick and diseased animals are more likely to succumb to severe winters, which can help diminish disease prevalence across the landscape.
Supplemental feeding can lead to deer habituation in residential areas that can cause a variety of human-deer conflict issues for both deer and wildlife:
- Habituated deer are less likely to show fear of humans and more likely to take up residency in a town site, which can lead to wildlife-human conflict through vehicle collisions, garden and property damage.
- Higher numbers of deer living in residential areas can attract predators (such as wolves) that can cause safety issues to the community.
- Management of residential, habituated deer becomes very difficult as common scare tactics (e.g., noise makers, dogs, hazing, etc.) become less effective. Hunting is typically not feasible in a town site as hunting is not permitted in the town site.
- Lethal removal of deer within town sites is not something the Ministry of Environment conducts.
Feeding Predators (excluding for the purposes of hunting) is Prohibited in Saskatchewan
- It is now illegal to feed bears, wolves, cougars and coyotes in Saskatchewan (see link below for information)
Additional Media Information:
Prevent the Spread of Avian Influenza in Wild Birds
Candle Lake is the home of may beautiful birds and the perfect location for avid bird watchers and nature photographers to capture the perfect picture. Did you know that these precious birds can carry Avian Influenza and we can help stop the spread of Avian Influenza in wild birds? See the link below for information on how we can do our part to prevent the spread of Avian Influenza.
Prevent the Spread of Avian Influenza 
Report dead birds to the Ministry of Environment Inquiry Centre at 1-800-567-4224