Black Hills mule deer herd focus of 2023 chronic wasting disease sampling efforts

For years the Wyoming Game and Fish Department has asked hunters to help gather samples from their harvest to test and monitor for chronic Wasting disease. 

The department has recently reported they need help from hunters this fall to collect samples from mule deer for chronic wasting disease (CWD) testing in Deer Hunt Areas 1-6. 

According to the Game and Fish, the department is requesting hunters who harvest a mule deer buck in one of these hunt areas, to please submit a sample for testing. Field personnel contacting hunters in the field, at game check stations and at meat processing facilities will request CWD samples from harvested animals from these targeted areas. Sampling takes just a few minutes and requires removing a set of lymph nodes from the neck of the animal.  

Game and Fish is not asking for white-tailed deer samples this year as the department has good data on current CWD prevalence and distribution in these areas. 

Hunters who do not encounter Game and Fish personnel in the field can bring their animal to the Devil’s Tower check station on Highway 24 between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Nov. 4, 5, 11, 12 and 17 for sampling. Animals that will be taxidermied must have the cape removed before sampling. 

Hunters can also learn how to take a sample with a how-to video on the Game and Fish website.

Participation is voluntary, but hunters are very important in helping Game and Fish understand the disease and achieve CWD monitoring goals. Animals infected with CWD can look healthy and in good condition. They usually do not show visible signs of the disease until the final few weeks of life. Therefore, a laboratory-tested sample is necessary to determine if the animal has the disease.

Beginning in 2019, a surveillance regime was implemented that focuses sampling efforts on specific deer and elk herds in each Department region on a 5-year rotational basis. The goal is to test at least 200 samples from adult elk (both sexes) and 200 samples from adult buck deer harvested in each herd. Bucks are targeted because Wyoming’s conservative mule deer hunting seasons result in primarily antlered deer harvest. The 200-sample goal allows wildlife managers to determine a statistically-valid prevalence estimate. The herd unit rotation is designed to obtain prevalence estimates for each herd unit approximately every five years to track trends over time.

“These deer hunt areas in the Black Hills were targeted for sampling in 2022 and we are continuing that effort in 2023,” said Newcastle Wildlife Biologist Joe Sandrini. “Every sample provided by a hunter gets us closer to the 200-sample goal.” 

Hunters who submit a usable sample will be entered into a raffle for an opportunity to win quality outdoor gear. 

Hunters harvesting deer or elk outside of this year’s focused surveillance areas can still submit a sample for testing by bringing their animal to the Beulah aquatic invasive species watercraft check station between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. seven days a week. The Beulah check station is located at the Northeast Wyoming Welcome Center on Interstate 90.

Testing will also be offered at the Newcastle aquatic invasive species watercraft check station Saturdays through Tuesdays, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Newcastle check station is located at the Gateway Travel Center at the junction of highways 16 and 85.

Animals can also be taken to the Casper or Sheridan Regional Office.

Results from tested animals will be available within three weeks through the hunter’s Game and Fish account.