Hunters can help FWP manage prevalence of chronic wasting disease >
HELENA – The general elk and deer season opens Oct. 24, and, once again, FWP needs samples from harvested deer, elk and moose to track chronic wasting disease (CWD) and inform management aimed at reducing CWD spread. Understanding where CWD is and how it’s spreading allows FWP staff to respond to new detections, implement management strategies and help prevent the possible declines that have been associated with high CWD prevalence in some states.
Proactive management efforts can help keep prevalence of the disease low to protect the long‑term health of deer and elk herds, hunting opportunity and wildlife viewing for future generations of Montanans.
This is where you come in. Your hunt helps manage CWD by keeping prevalence low, and low prevalence means more deer without CWD on the landscape and protecting harvest opportunities for future generations. Having your animal tested and properly disposing of the carcass are just two simple actions that protect herd health and, in turn, protect future hunting opportunities.
Testing is voluntary across most of Montana. But certain licenses and permits that are issued for CWD management have mandatory testing requirements. These areas are near Libby and Kalispell. Check the regulations for specific hunting districts where this applies.
Certain areas of the state are designated as priority sampling areas. These are areas where FWP staff are trying to gather more samples. Priority sampling areas can fall into two groups 1) places where CWD has not yet been detected, 2) places where CWD has been detected where prevalence needs to be monitored. In these areas hunters are asked to voluntarily submit a sample from their animal.
FWP staff use sample data to determine the estimated CWD prevalence in positive hunting districts and to understand if CWD has spread to new districts. Even if you’re in a hunting district with no CWD detections, CWD may still be present but undetected because of low sampling numbers. FWP also uses this information to determine how to respond to CWD when present and to eventually assess whether our management strategies are working.
Hunters can also help keep prevalence low by properly disposing of carcasses. All carcass parts left over from processing, such as brain, eyes, spleen, lymph glands and spinal cord material, should be bagged and disposed of in a landfill or may be left at the kill site. Dumping carcasses is illegal, unethical and can spread diseases.
Other ways hunters can help keep prevalence low:
Concerns over CWD shouldn’t stop you from enjoying hunting season. Hunters are critical to conservation efforts across the state and protecting our wildlife heritage.
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