Chronic Wasting Disease on the Rise in Wyoming

APRIL 21, 2025|

Photo – Mule deer – Bigfoot99 file photo

Instances of Chronic Wasting Disease in mule deer have increased across the state, including here in Carbon County.

Earlier this month, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department released the results of its 2024 Chronic Wasting Disease survey. Out of 5,276 mule deer carcasses tested last year, 726 were found to be positive, indicating a 13.7% statewide prevalence of Chronic Wasting Disease.

But what is Chronic Wasting Disease? Wyoming Game and Fish Saratoga Wildlife Biologist Teal Cufaude explained the disease, often called CWD, is caused by misfolded proteins called prions that impact members of the cervid family, such as deer and elk. Cufaude said the exact method of transmission isn’t entirely understood at this time, but biologists believe that the prions can be transmitted through bodily fluids.

Animals infected with Chronic Wasting Disease may exhibit symptoms such as drastic weight loss, stumbling, drooling, increased thirst and urination, drooping ears, a loss of fear of humans, and other unusual behavior.

Alternatively, animals in the early stages of the disease may not show any symptoms of the illness. Laboratory testing of tissue samples, including the brainstem or lymph nodes, remains the only reliable method for confirming the presence of CWD.

To track the spread of Chronic Wasting Disease, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department enforces mandatory testing. This requires hunters to provide tissue samples from deer or elk to a department biologist. During last year’s hunting season, Game and Fish set up sample collection stations in deer hunt area 70, home to the Shirley Mountain mule deer herd.

Saratoga wildlife biologist Cufaude explained over the past five years, Game and Fish has collected over 150 mule deer samples from the Shirley Mountain herd. Cufaude said roughly 28 of those samples, or 18%, tested positive for CWD.

Cufaude explained a CWD prevalence of over 10% is concerning to biologists.

Due to the high number of infected animals in Deer Hunt Area 70, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department will continue mandatory sampling of the Shirley Mountain mule deer herd this year. Cufaude urged hunters to voluntarily submit tissue samples from their mule deer harvests.

Game and Fish biologists also tested mule deer in the Platte Valley hunt areas of 78, 79, 80, and 81. Cufaude said ten percent of the 280 mule deer carcasses tested over the past five years showed signs of Chronic Wasting Disease.

Cufaude reported CWD in both the Shirley Mountain and Platte Valley mule deer herds was higher than the previous five-year study. Carbon County elk populations have shown fewer signs of Chronic Wasting Disease. The biologist said, of the 632 elk samples collected from the Snowy Range herd over the past five years, only 9 tested positive for the disease.

Cufaude said elk in the Sierra Madre hunt areas showed even fewer signs of CWD, with only two elk testing positive over the past five years. Elk populations consistently show less instances of Chronic Wasting Disease than mule deer in the same area.

Statewide, percentages of CWD in elk are 2.8%.

Moose are also suspectable to Chronic Wasting Disease. Game and Fish Biologist Cufaude said instances of CWD in moose are very rare, with no cases reported in Carbon County.

No instances of humans contracting Chronic Wasting Disease from eating contaminated meat have been reported. However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention strongly advises against consuming meat from CWD positive animals.

People are free to eat the contaminated meat, but Cufaude said, like the CDC, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department recommends against it. Instead, the state agency issues written confirmation when an animal tests positive for Chronic Wasting Disease, allowing individuals to discard the meat.

Cufaude suggested that all hunters should have their mule deer and elk carcasses tested before eating the meat. If an animal tests positive for Chronic Wasting Disease, the carcass should be properly discarded in a landfill or a dumpster provided by Game and Fish to help prevent the spread of the disease.

For more information about Chronic Wasting Disease testing or disposing of infected animals, visit the Wyoming Game and Fish Department’s CWD information website. A link to the site will be included with this story when it is posted to the Bigfoot99 website later today.

Game and Fish Chronic Wasting Disease information website: Chronic Wasting Disease | Wyoming Game & Fish Department