Game and Fish continues to monitor brucellosis in elk, hunters can help

According to the Wyoming Game and Fish, hunters have long been considered an invaluable resource for the department’s efforts to collect biological samples for study and testing. 

According to the Game and Fish, this fall elk hunters in select hunt areas are again being asked to collect blood samples from their harvested animal to help in the department’s brucellosis surveillance efforts. Brucellosis is a disease caused by the bacteria Brucella abortus. Elk, bison and domestic cattle are susceptible to brucellosis, which may cause animals to abort calves and further transmit the disease.

Game and Fish are skiing hunters in targeted elk hunt areas for the 2023 season to help in data collection by taking a blood sample from their elk immediately after harvest with a Game and Fish sample kit, keeping it cool and submitting it soon after harvest. 

The targeted elk hunt areas are: 21, 22, 23, 24, 25,  27,  28,  30, 31, 32, 39, 40, 41, 45, 49, 54, 64, 66, 100, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 118, 124 and 127. A map is available online.

About 8,500 kits will be mailed to hunters this year. Hunters in targeted elk hunt areas should receive kits about two weeks prior to the opening date of that particular hunt area and license type. 

“You may have already —  or will soon —  receive a blood kit in the mail. Please bring this kit with you while hunting and collect a sample from your harvested animal and submit it to us. Take the sample soon after harvest and keep it cool until drop-off,” Game and Fish Wildlife Health Laboratory Supervisor Jessica Jennings-Gaines said. “If you did not receive a blood kit, and are planning to hunt in one of the targeted areas, please contact your local Game and Fish to pick up a kit prior to heading afield.”

Game and Fish has partnered with several outdoor gear companies in a raffle for hunters who provide a usable blood sample from their harvested elk as an incentive for hunters to collect samples. Hunters with multiple licenses may receive a kit for each and can enter the raffle for each usable sample returned. 

GRAND PRIZE PACKAGE

    Benelli Lupo rifle donated by Benelli. 

    Vortex Strike Eagle 3-18×44 FFP rifle scope donated by Vortex Optics. 

ADDITIONAL PRIZES

    Sig Sauer Oscar8 27-55×80 spotting scope donated by Sig Sauer. 

    Maven C1 10×42 binoculars donated by Maven.

    Game and Fish sweatshirts donated by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. 

“Thank you to all our sponsors who support wildlife with their generous donations,” Jennings-Gaines said. 

Nearly one-quarter of the state is surveyed annually for brucellosis on a rotating basis. Each fall, hunters return between 1,000-1,300 blood samples to the laboratory. 

Hunters are urged to wear latex/nitrile gloves, keep the sample cool in a chilled cooler and not allow it to freeze or spoil. Fill out the requested information on the enclosed card and return the kit to a biologist or game warden in the field, at a check station, Game and Fish office or drop the prepaid box with the sample in the mail. Learn how to collect a sample through a short video.

Hunters who don’t harvest an elk this year should not mail back an empty kit.

“Save the blood kit for your next year’s hunt or return it unused to a Game and Fish office or official,” Jennings-Gaines said.

According to the Game and Fish, brucellosis has been shown to slightly reduce pregnancy rates but not limit the population size of elk. Usable data collected by hunters coupled with GPS data from radio-collared elk are being used to develop projects to mitigate brucellosis transmission risk among elk and from elk to livestock.