Brucellosis found on western slope of Bighorns

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department has detected brucellosis in Elk Hunt Area 45 on the western slope of the Bighorn Mountains. The cow elk was harvested by a hunter in late October.  

According to the department, the positive detection was confirmed in November by the National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Ames, Iowa. The Wyoming Livestock Board is working closely with Game and Fish to monitor the disease. 

The Game and Fish report brucellosis has not been documented in livestock in this area. 

Brucellosis exposure in elk has been detected on the western slope of the Bighorn Mountains in the past, from 2012-16, and again in 2022. In 2022, brucellosis was detected in a hunter-harvested bull elk in the same hunt area. 

In the release the Game and Fish stated the department will continue surveillance efforts in the Bighorn Mountains to determine the extent and distribution of the disease.