Deer disease found near New Meadows
Hunters asked to have animials tested for chronic wasting disease, described as being ‘nasty stuff’
Chronic wasting disease has been found in a new area of Idaho, marking the first time the fatal infection has been detected outside of Game Management Unit 14 near White Bird.
According to an Idaho Fish and Game news release, a hunter-killed mule deer buck taken about 7 miles south of New Meadows from Unit 32-A tested positive for CWD. Managers from the agency are working to gather more information and have not yet developed a plan of response.
“This is an unfortunate situation, but it’s why we test throughout the state for this disease,” Fish and Game Director Jim Fredericks said in the news release. “If it’s on the landscape, we want to know where, and we rely on hunters to provide samples so we can test for it and continue to manage to limit the spread of this disease.”
Agency officials are asking deer and elk hunters in Unit 32A and in nearby units 22, 23, 24, and 32 to have their animals tested for the disease. Those willing can take the heads of their harvested animals to local Fish and Game offices where biologists will remove lymph nodes for testing. Instructions detailing how to remove lymph nodes and send them in for testing are available at bit.ly/3u5dvGq
Chronic wasting disease is present in 31 states and four Canadian provinces.
It is caused by misfolded proteins known as prions and attacks the brain and central nervous system of infected animals. Those in the later stages of the disease often become disoriented and sometimes spin in circles before dying. All the while, they shed prions.
Animals most commonly contract the disease by direct contact with other animals, but the prions can persist on the landscape for years. So deer, elk and moose can get it simply by grazing in areas where prions have been shed. It is not known to infect humans, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends people avoid eating the meat of animals known to have CWS.
The disease was first detected in Idaho in the fall of 2021. In response, the department declared a CWD management zone, comprising hunting units 14 and 15. That fall and winter, the department authorized special hunts designed to collect more samples and establish how prevalent it was in deer and elk populations. Last year, the agency authorized a project to reduce deer densities in the Slate Creek area, ground zero for the Unit 14 infection. Sharpshooters killed more than 400 deer there last winter and testing revealed an infection rate of about 5 percent.
Toby Boudreau, deer and elk program manager, said the agency is pulling together all the data it has on mule deer migrations in Unit 32A and waiting for more test results. Fish and Game commissioners will be briefed on the latest infection when they meet in Lewiston on Nov. 16.
“We are trying to gather more data,” Boudreau said. “As we learn more and the commission wraps their heads around this thing, I’m sure there will be a clear direction.”
Don Ebert, commissioner of the Clearwater Region, said the response in Unit 32A will likely be much different than the approach taken in Unit 14. Deer in Unit 14 typically don’t migrate out of the area during the winter months. But deer in 32A migrate to lower elevations during the winter.
Ebert said he has already seen negative comments and people speculating on Facebook that the agency will soon start killing mule deer in Unit 32A. He is asking those concerned about CWD and deer not to jump to conclusions.
“Please understand this is being looked at very serious and Fish and Game wants to get it right,” he said. “CWD is nasty, nasty stuff. Nobody wants to go kill all the deer but we don’t want to let it get away from us either.”
Agency officials are asking deer and elk hunters in Unit 32A and in nearby units 22, 23, 24, and 32 to have their animals tested for the disease. Those willing can take the heads of their harvested animals to local Fish and Game offices where biologists will remove lymph nodes for testing. Instructions detailing how to remove lymph nodes and send them in for testing are available at bit.ly/3u5dvGq.
Barker may be contacted at ebarker@lmtribune.com or at (208) 848-2273. Follow him on Twitter @ezebarker.
