September 2021 - 9

NEWS
Hunters who harvest deer in Deer Hunt Areas 96 and 97 will be required to submit a chronic wasting disease sample this year. (Photo by Mark Gocke/WGFD)
Game and Fish requires
mandatory CWD samples from
Deer Hunt Areas 96 and 97
CHEYENNE - The Wyoming Game
and Fish Department is trialing a new
monitoring tool to contribute to research on
chronic wasting disease in Wyoming.
CWD is a fatal disease of the central
nervous system in mule deer, whitetailed
deer, elk and moose.
For the first time, Game and
analysis, Game and Fish prefers to have
its employees take the samples in these
mandatory deer hunt areas.
THE MANDATORY TESTING IN DEER HUNT
Fish is requiring mandatory
CWD sample submission on deer
harvested from Deer Hunt Areas
96 and 97. These areas are home
to the Sweetwater Herd Unit in the
Lander Region.
" These hunt areas were selected
because this herd unit is a priority for
CWD data collection, " said Daryl
Lutz, Game and Fish wildlife management
coordinator in Lander. " Samples are
extremely difficult to get using traditional
check stations and field checks, and there is
opportunity with adequate CWD data to
assess the effect of proportionally high buck
harvest as it may relate to CWD prevalence. "
To ensure proper tissue collection for
AREAS 96 AND 97 INCLUDES MULE DEER AND
WHITE-TAILED DEER HARVESTED DURING THE
SPECIAL ARCHERY SEASON, WHICH OPENS
SEPT. 1, AND THE REGULAR SEASON THAT
RUNS OCT. 15 - OCT. 20. MANDATORY SAMPLE
SUBMISSION ALSO APPLIES TO WHITE-TAILED
DEER HARVESTED DURING THE OCT. 15-NOV. 30
TYPE 3 AND TYPE 8 SEASONS.
" Hunters can bring their deer in at
Game and Fish-operated check stations or
department regional offices, " Lutz said. " If
necessary, hunters can submit samples on
their own. "
Animals with CWD may show weight
loss, reluctance to move, excessive salivation,
droopy ears, increased drinking and
urinating, lethargy and eventually death.
However, not all animals show symptoms;
the majority of CWD-positive animals
that are harvested appear normal.
The only way to know whether a
harvested animal has CWD is to
have it tested.
Since 1997 Game and Fish
has monitored the distribution
and prevalence of CWD to better
understand how it affects the
health of Wyoming's deer and elk
populations. The disease is found
more in deer than elk in the state.
" Hunters have an important role
in wildlife health research, " Lutz
said. " The success of Wyoming's
monitoring efforts and data are in large part
due to hunter-submitted lymph nodes from
their harvests, " Lutz said.
For more information about Game and
Fish's efforts with CWD go to: https://wgfd.
wyo.gov/Wildlife-in-Wyoming/More-Wildlife/
Wildlife-Disease/Chronic-Wasting-Disease.
- Robert Gagliardi, WGFD
Wyoming Wildlife | 9

https://wgfd.wyo.gov/WILDLIFE-IN-WYOMING/more-wildlife/wildlife-disease/chronic-wasting-disease https://wgfd.wyo.gov/WILDLIFE-IN-WYOMING/more-wildlife/wildlife-disease/chronic-wasting-disease

September 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of September 2021