MONTANA FISH, WILDLIFE AND PARKS
A white-tailed
deer harvested during the general hunting season by a hunter in the Ruby Valley
in southwest Montana has tested positive for chronic wasting disease. The Ruby
Valley deer was harvested on private land about a mile west of Sheridan, within
Hunting District 322. This case is the first detection of CWD in southwest
Montana. A second white-tailed deer buck harvested in the area tested positive
shortly after the first.
The latest
batch of testing has turned up other new positive samples from deer harvested
within CWD Management Zones elsewhere in the state where the disease is known
to exist.
This year
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks conducted CWD surveillance in parts of
northern, western and southeastern Montana, primarily from hunter-harvested
animals. In addition, hunters in all parts of the state were able to submit
their own samples for testing. All samples are sent for testing to Colorado
State University and those results were reported on a weekly basis to FWP. This
is the last round of results from animals harvested during the general rifle
season. Hunters who submitted animals for testing can visit fwp.mt.gov/CWD to
check for their results.
This year,
more than 7,000 animals have been sampled statewide, and as of Dec. 23, 131 have
tested positive for CWD. CWD has been detected across much of Montana,
including the northwest, northeast, southeast and southwest.
With the
general hunting season now closed, FWP will review management strategies,
testing results and other collected information to make plans for the next
necessary steps in managing the disease. CWD cannot be eradicated once it
infects a herd.
CWD is a
fatal disease that can affect the nervous system of deer, elk and moose.
Transmission can most commonly occur through direct contact between animals,
including urine, feces, saliva, blood and antler velvet. Carcasses of infected
animals may serve as a source of environmental contamination as well and can
infect other animals that come into contact with it.
The disease
was first discovered in the wild in Montana south of Billings in 2017. There is
no known transmission of CWD to humans. However, the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention recommends that hunters harvesting an animal in an area
where CWD is known to be present have their animal tested. If the animal tests
positive, CDC advises against eating the meat.
Hunters who
harvest deer or elk during late seasons can still submit their lymph nodes for
testing to the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks lab in Bozeman. Instructions can
be found at fwp.mt.gov/CWD for sampling your own animal and mailing the samples
to the lab.
