When November 1 arrives, many students take a couple of days off. “Hunting” is written in their attendance and fingers are crossed. Everyone wants to relish the feeling of a successful harvest, but what happens when, after all that hard work, the CWD test comes back positive?

Chronic Wasting Disease is a fatal prion disease that affects members of the Cervidae family. It causes weight loss, confusion, drooping ears, and eventually death in infected animals.

“Out at my place we’ve had quite a few deer with Chronic Wasting Disease,” junior Dawson George said. “And a lot of them, I mean, start out pretty healthy; they’ll be fleshy, they’ll look nice, and then suddenly they’ll start to get worse and worse and worse.”

CWD was first discovered in the United States as far back as 1967. In deer, elk, and moose, it has since spread at an increasing rate.

“I also think, honestly, this is my opinion, subdividing is actually a huge key to it because all this farm ground that a lot of these deer rely on, or this high country or winter grounds, they rely on that every year to survive,” George said. “And when people put houses on that, it’s no longer livable for deer; so that forces them to live in more confined areas where disease can be spread more rapidly.”

Over time big game will die off, and there will be fewer animals to harvest. Some people rely on such sources for food and the lack of healthy animals can seriously affect their lives.

“A lot of people can’t afford beef or pork or chicken, and a lot of people depend on deer meat for their freezer and their annual meat supply,” George said. “Just having meat go bad because of a disease affects a lot of people.” 

Samples are taken from the lymph nodes of cervids and then tested for CWD in labs. The Wyoming Game and Fish Department says this process can take up to three weeks before results are in. During that time, the meat should be double-bagged and stored in a freezer, preferably away from other foods. 

“I think that people know it exists,” sophomore Hayden Jensen said. “But they don’t know how to prevent it.”

The disease is spread through feces, saliva, and other infected tissues. It can exist in the environment and even in plants after a carcass decays. To help prevent CWD, it is important to discard the diseased carcass in a registered carcass disposal location. 

“I’ve only harvested a few animals,” Jensen said. “but none were positive for CWD.”

With Chronic Wasting Disease, infected animals can appear healthy for up to two years before the fatal symptoms set in. During this time they are contagious. After harvesting an animal it is important to get it tested. 

According to the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, “Animals will test positive for the disease long before these clinical signs appear and the majority of CWD-positive animals that are harvested appear completely normal and healthy.”

Chronic Wasting Disease is a serious threat to Wyoming wildlife and should be taken seriously. Hunters can prevent the spread of CWD by following guidelines for the future health of animals and humans. Even if your animal appears healthy, get it tested.

Information:

https://wgfd.wyo.gov/wyoming-wildlife/wildlife-disease-and-health/chronic-wasting-disease

https://www.aphis.usda.gov/livestock-poultry-disease/cervid/chronic-wasting/cwd-specifics