Although most wild animals are healthy, diseases and parasites can occur in any wildlife population. Some diseases, such as rabies in foxes and brucellosis in caribou, occur regularly in the NWT . Parasites such as tapeworm cysts and sarcocystis in meat and hydatid cysts in lungs are not uncommon in big game species. Some of these diseases can infect domestic animals or humans.

If you shoot a sick animal, take the following precautions: do not cut into diseased parts; wash your hands and knives when finished butchering; and do not feed the meat or organs of infected animals to dogs. Report the sick animal to the nearest Renewable Resource Officer. Report all observations of diseased wildlife to the nearest Renewable Resource Officer. They are the only ones authorized to dispose of diseased animals.