CASPER, Wyo. — The Wyoming Game and Fish Department is asking hunters in specific hunt areas in the Big Horn Basin to collect and submit samples from mule deer and elk they harvest for chronic wasting disease testing.

Game and Fish has a goal of collecting at least 200 samples from adult mule deer bucks or adult elk in the targeted hunt areas, the department said on Tuesday.

“Our goals with collecting samples and monitoring CWD are to protect the health of wildlife,” Corey Class, wildlife management coordinator with Game and Fish’s Cody Regional Office, said. “Hunters and volunteers are very important to helping us understand the disease and achieve our goals.”

The following table and map indicate the hunt areas Game and Fish is focusing on for the chronic wasting disease sampling:

While Game and Fish’s request is specifically aimed at hunters who harvest mule deer bucks or adult elk in the specific hunt areas, the department can also test samples from mule deer does, white-tailed deer, elk and moose harvested anywhere in the region if hunters request it.

The targeted testing aims to track chronic wasting disease as part of Game and Fish’s long-term, statewide monitoring plan. The disease is fatal to deer, elk and moose that get infected.

“To help better understand prevalence (the proportion of animals positive vs. all animals tested), impacts to deer herds and possible management options, Game and Fish is monitoring prevalence of CWD over many years,” the department said. “Strategically focusing on specific herd units within a given year will help Game and Fish obtain more samples, which allows changes in CWD prevalence to be detected over time. As CWD monitoring goals are obtained within targeted herd units, new herd units are added for targeted surveillance using a scheduled rotation.”

Hunters are able to have animals sampled at any game check station or by going to the Cody Regional Office, 2820 Wyoming Highway 120, between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday–Friday. “Additional options for testing include select processors and taxidermists throughout the Basin, drop barrels for heads located at the Cody Regional Office, Medicine Lodge State Park, and in Powell at Northwest College on the south side of Science and Math Building at 6th and Division Streets,” Game and Fish said. “Hunters can also call Northwest College CWD hotline at 307-754-6018 to schedule a time during regular business hours for a sample to be collected from a harvested deer, elk or moose. “Hunters can also learn how to take a sample with a how-to video on the Game and Fish website.”

Hunters who submit a usable sample for chronic wasting disease will be entered into a raffle for the chance to win outdoor gear. “Hunters can win prizes for samples submitted from targeted (Tier 1) and non-targeted (Tier 2) areas,” Game and Fish said. “Targeted samples include adult male mule deer or any adult elk from targeted CWD monitoring hunt areas. Non-targeted samples include all other CWD samples regardless of what hunt area they came from.”

Prizes in the Tier 1 raffle include:

Winners of the drawings will be announced in March 2023.

“Hunters should refer to page 5 of the 2022 Antelope, Deer and Elk Hunting Regulations for specific CWD provisions regarding transportation of harvested animals,” Game and Fish noted. “To facilitate proper disposal of carcasses and help reduce environmental contamination with CWD, this year Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality and the Mule Deer Foundation are providing dumpsters in two locations at no cost to hunters. Dumpsters will be available at South Bighorn County Landfill north of Basin and Medicine Lodge State Park near Hyattville for hunters to dispose of inedible portions of harvested deer, elk and moose. “Although this disease has not been shown to be transmissible to humans, hunters are encouraged to wear rubber or latex gloves when dressing carcasses and avoid handling the brain and spinal tissues. When butchering, meat should be boned out. Hunters should not consume animals that appear to be sick, or brain, spinal cord, eyes, spleen or lymph nodes. Washing hands and instruments is good practice. Knives and other equipment can be disinfected by soaking in 40:60 bleach water for five minutes. Hunters interested in CWD test results of their harvested animal will need to log in through their Game and Fish user account at wgfd.wyo.gov.”

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