On December 1, 2021, the Idaho Fish and Game Department (IFGD) announced specialized tags for Chronic Wasting Disease surveillance hunts. Beginning on December 7, 2021, the IFGD will offer 1,527 deer tags to Idaho residents. Hunters who take part must follow strict requirements to gather 775 CWD samples from the deer population in Idaho.
Chronic Wasting Disease
Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is a fatal prion disease that affects elk, deer, reindeer, moose, and sika deer. Symptoms in infected animals include:
- Stumbling
- Listlessness
- Excessive salivation
- Wasting (extreme weight loss)
- Tremors
- No fear of humans
These symptoms often take over a year to appear. CWD is always fatal because there are no known treatments or vaccines.
Although there are no reported cases of transfer to humans, there is a risk of transfer through contact with an infected brain or body fluids or consumption of an infected animal. This possibility makes CWD a genuine health threat to the human population.
CWD in Idaho
Recently, two mule buck deer in Idaho tested positive for CWD, marking the first instance of the deadly disease in the state.
The appearance of CWD in Idaho has spurred the IFGD to take action to determine the spread of the disease in the local deer and elk populations. They are offering 1,527 deer tags to hunters in Idaho under strict conditions to gather CWD test samples.
Scott Reinecker, Deputy Director of the IFGD, relayed his appreciation to deer hunters for accommodating the state’s inconvenient but necessary safety measures for these surveillance hunts.
Idaho CWD Surveillance Hunt Details
The 1,527 deer tags for the CWD surveillance hunts go on sale on December 7 at 10:00 a.m. MST. Tags are only available through the IFG regional offices and will be sold at a discounted price on a first-come, first-serve basis. Tags are $10 each and limited to one tag per hunter.
The requirements for the CWD hunts include:
- Only harvest deer for which you have a valid tag
- Debone or quarter the kill on the kill site
- Take deer heads to IFG check station within 24 hours of harvest
- Note and report GPS location of harvest deer
- Follow carcass handling directions provided by the IFGD
Hunts are scheduled to run through December 19, 2021, or according to the discretion of the IFGD. For more information, visit IFGD or read their 2021 CWD strategy.
