GILLETTE, Wyo. — Wildlife managers continue to monitor for chronic wasting disease and are looking to collect harvest samples from mule deer and elk in the Bighorn Basin, according to the Wyoming Game and Fish Department.
Per a recent release, the department aims to collect hundreds of samples from the Cody Elk herd, Shoshone River Herd and Southwest Bighorns herd. Samples should come from elk hunt areas 55, 56, 58–61, 66, 121, 122, 123, 35–37, 39, 40 and 164.
The department is also encouraging hunters to submit doe and white-tailed deer samples. Samples from other deer, elk and moose harvested throughout the Bighorn Basin will be tested if requested by hunters, the release states.
“Our goals with collecting samples and monitoring CWD are to protect the health of wildlife,” Cody Area Wildlife Management Coordinator Corey Class said in a statement. “Hunters are very important in helping us understand the disease and achieve monitoring.”
Samples collected from deer and mule deer harvested from targeted areas help the department track CWD as part of a long-term, statewide monitoring plan, Game and Fish says, adding that the disease is widely distributed across Wyoming and is fatal to the deer family.
Per the release, hunters can have animals sampled at any game check station this season or at the Cody Regional Office. Additional testing options include drop barrels for heads at Northwest College in Powell, Medicine Lodge State Park and the Cody Regional Office, in addition to select processors and taxidermists throughout the basin.
While the disease has not been shown to be transmissible to humans, hunters should wear latex or rubber gloves when dressing carcasses and avoid handling the brain and spinal tissues, Game and Fish says.
“Hunters should not consume animals that appear to be sick, or brain, spinal cord, eyes, spleen, or lymph nodes,” the release states. “Washing hands and instruments is good practice. Knives and other equipment can be disinfected by soaking in 40:60 bleach water for five minutes.”
For CWD test results for their harvested animals, hunters will need to log in through their Game and Fish user account.
