October 18, 2023 |
PHOTO – CWD infected deer – Bigfoot99 file photo
This hunting season, Wyoming Game and Fish Department is testing for Chronic Wasting Disease in mule deer in the Platte Valley. Hunters in areas 70, 78, 79, 80, and 81 are being asked to submit samples for analysis.
In late September, Wyoming Game and Fish began asking hunters in the Platte River Valley to provide mule deer lymph nodes to biologists. Game and Fish crews have set up checkpoints across Carbon County where hunters can submit lymph node specimens from harvested deer. The samples will be sent to the Game and Fish Wildlife Health Lab in Laramie to test for the existence of Chronic Wasting Disease.
Saratoga Wildlife Biologist Teal Cufaude said Game and Fish regularly tests for Chronic Wasting Disease, or CWD, across the state. Cufaude said hunters could always voluntarily request CWD testing, but now Game and Fish is actively gathering specimens from within the Platte Valley.
Chronic Wasting Disease can affect many antlered animals, such as mule deer, elk, and moose. CWD is a progressive disease that causes brain cells to die, ultimately leading to the slow death of the affected animal.
The disease spreads through bodily fluids and can remain contagious in the environment for years.
No confirmed cases of CWD in humans have been reported, but the Centers for Disease Control recommends not eating meat from an infected animal.
Cufaude said samples voluntarily submitted from the Platte River Valley over the past three years have shown the existence of CWD in around six and a half percent of mule deer. The wildlife biologist said Game and Fish is trying to collect 200 mule deer specimens this hunting season. Cufaude said the goal is unlikely to be achieved in 2023.
Cufaude said hunters are likely to see more Game and Fish checkpoints around Carbon County this hunting season. The wildlife biologist said her department is trying to generate an accurate count of the number of affected mule deer in the region.
The mule deer hunting season in most of the areas targeted for testing has already ended. Cufaude said hunting in the Shirley Mountain region will continue until October 21st. The wildlife biologist said she’ll have preliminary testing data as early as next week.
Bigfoot99 will check back with Wyoming Game and Fish soon to find out how prevalent Chronic Wasting Disease is in Carbon County.
