WYOMING — It’s hunting season and Wyoming Game and Fish Department is gearing up for another season of chronic wasting disease (CWD) testing. This year, six deer hunt areas require mandatory samples but the agency is asking hunters in other key hunt areas to voluntarily submit lymph node samples.
“Hunter-submitted samples are crucial to managing the disease in wildlife herds,” says Game and Fish.
CWD is a highly contagious fatal neurological disease that kills elk, deer and moose and spreads rapidly when large numbers of animals congregate. The neurological disease is highly contagious and passed from animal to animal through saliva, feces, urine and decomposing carcasses. Feedgrounds have been attributed to the perpetuation of the disease because large numbers of elk congregate in one area. If an animal is infected, the disease can spread quickly through the herd. Furthermore, because CWD is extremely resistant, environments that were contaminated by an infected carcass can infect other animals.
According to Game and Fish, the department has tracked the distribution and prevalence of CWD since 1997.
“Game and Fish is requesting samples from herds we’ve not addressed in a while, where we are trying to get a significant sample size so we can accurately determine what the CWD prevalence is in these herds,” Jessica Jennings-Gaines, Game and Fish Wildlife Health Laboratory supervisor said.
For 2023, Game and Fish is asking hunters to submit samples from within deer hunt areas 1-6, 22, 41, 47, 65, 70, 78-82, 84, 88, 89, 92, 94, 100, 128, 130, 131, 134, 135, 138-146, 148, 150-157, 160 and 171.
Deer hunt areas 88, 89, 41 (Type 1 only), 47 (Type 1 only), 157 and 171 are mandatory testing areas for CWD.
“Mandatory areas are geared to places where it is difficult to get an adequate number of samples,” Jennings-Gaines said. “Last year’s mandatory areas went very well. We had great compliance by the public and we were able to meet our surveillance goals. We couldn’t have done that without the public’s support.”
The elk hunt areas targeted for lymph node samples are 23, 55, 56, 58-61, 66, 70, 71, 75, 77-85, 87-91, 93, 95 and 96.
Hunters outside of this year’s focused surveillance areas can still submit a sample for testing. The department can take a sample at any open game check station, Game and Fish Headquarters or regional offices from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.
As thanks for their efforts, hunters who submit testable lymph node samples from mandatory and focus areas are entered into a raffle to win top-notch prizes.
Results from CWD testing are available online within three weeks. The only way for hunters to get the results of their deer or elk’s CWD test will be to check online through the Game and Fish website. Hunters can expedite results within 10 working days for a $40 fee; contact the Wyoming State Veterinary Lab in Laramie at (307) 766-9925 for more information.
