Hunters can help monitor for CWD

Idaho Fish and Game is asking hunters to help with a surveillance program by looking for chronic wasting disease in big game animals.

CWD is a contagious, fatal neurological disease that affects deer, elk, and moose.

Fish and Game staff is asking for sample submissions from hunters who harvest white-tailed and mule deer in the Panhandle and Clearwater regions. The samples may be collected by biologists at big game check stations this fall. Samples are collected by removing the lymph nodes located near the base of the deer’s jaw. Hunters can sample their own deer or bring deer into a regional office to have samples taken.

Fish and Game would also like samples from salvaged, road-killed deer Information required includes the date of salvage, the highway and milepost where the deer was salvaged. Heads should be kept cool or frozen.

No CWD deer have been detected by IDFG in Idaho since surveys began in 1997, although neighboring states including Montana, Utah, and Wyoming have confirmed CWD-positive animals near the Idaho border.

While deer, elk, and moose affected by CWD can be healthy-looking, they often appear thin with drooping head and ears, excessive salivation, and may exhibit unusual behaviors such as a loss of fear and a lack of coordination. Signs should be reported to IDFG.

For questions contact IDFG at (208) 799-5010 or visit https://idfg.idaho.gov/cwd/status.