Massachusetts hunters who hunt cervids (deer, elk, and moose) in New York, or other states and Canadian provinces where chronic wasting disease (CWD) is found, are reminded that they can bring back ONLY deboned meat, cleaned skull caps, hides without the head, or a fixed taxidermy mount. It is illegal for anyone to import, process, or possess whole carcasses or parts of cervids from wild or captive herds. This regulation has been in place since 2005.

If hunting deer, elk, moose in other states and provinces, particularly those in which CWD has been detected, hunters are advised to check with their state fish and wildlife agency to see if they have any specific advice to hunters or special regulations.

Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is a contagious neurological disease that is fatal to deer, elk, and moose. At this time, CWD has been detected in wild or captive cervids in Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, Nebraska, Minnesota, Montana, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming, West Virginia, and Wisconsin, and in the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. According to the World Health Organization, people cattle and other livestock are resistant to transmission of CWD. More information on Chronic Wasting Disease and a list of selected New York meat cutters near the Massachusetts border http://www.mass.gov/dfwele/dfw/dfw_toc.htm

Help keep Massachusetts deer and moose CWD-free — it’s the law.

North Dakota’s Hunter-Harvested Surveillance program in the eastern third of the state is off to a good start, as nearly 500 deer have been sampled for chronic wasting disease and bovine tuberculosis.

“The cooperation from hunters has been truly remarkable,” said Dr. Erika Butler, wildlife veterinarian for the Game and Fish Department. “This proves how important this issue really is.”

Butler said the quota has been reached from deer units in southeastern North Dakota, but more heads are needed from units in the northeast. “We are still seeking deer heads from units 1, 2C, 2D, 2E and 2L,” she said. “We need roughly another 300.”

Hunters are reminded that those participating in this effort, and whose deer have been sampled, will have their names entered in a drawing for five muzzleloaders and 100 Sagen Saws.

The odds of winning a prize increases with each additional head a hunter has sampled, Butler said. “With one head your chance of winning a prize is approximately one in ten. With two, it is one in five,” she said.

Every head sampled must have either the deer tag attached, or a new tag can be attached with the license number, deer hunting unit and date harvested included. Skull caps and antlers can be removed. Fawns will not be tested.

Deer head collection sites are still available at locations in Brocket, KO Bar; Cavalier, Ugly’s Tavern; Devils Lake, Game and Fish Department district office; Fordville, Waldo’s Bar; Forest River, Tom’s Lounge; Grand Forks, Ted’s Taxidermy; Hannaford, Remedy Bar; Jamestown, Game and Fish Department district office; Munich, Dave’s Joint; Nekoma, Pain Reliever; Rock Lake, Cahill’s Pub; Walhalla, North Dakota Forest Service; and Wolford, Corregidor Bar.

Heads are no longer accepted at Mills Fleet Farm in Fargo and Johnnie B’s Bar and Grill in Gwinner.

By Tom Cadden, public information officer, Arizona Game and Fish Department

The Arizona Game and Fish Department is again asking for hunter assistance this season in monitoring for chronic wasting disease (CWD), a wildlife neurological disease that is fatal to deer and elk.

The disease has not yet been found in Arizona, but it is in three neighboring states—Colorado, Utah and New Mexico. The department needs 1,800 deer and elk heads this hunting season to test for presence of the disease.

You can assist by bringing in the head of your recently harvested deer or elk to any Game and Fish Department office between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Place the head in a heavy plastic garbage bag for delivery, and keep it cool and out of the sun. If the weather is warm, it is best to either bring in the head within a day of harvest or keep it on ice in a cooler before delivery.

To better assist the surveillance efforts, you will be asked to fill out a form with your drop-off. Please include the following information: county, game management unit in which the animal was harvested, hunt and permit number, and an address and phone number where you can be reached. If this information is not provided, the department will be unable to test the sample.

You will be notified of the test results by postcard within six to eight weeks. There is no charge for the testing and notification.

Currently, there is no evidence that CWD poses a risk for humans.

The department has been conducting surveillance using hunter-harvested deer and elk since 1998. Test samples from more than 8,300 animals during that time have found no evidence of CWD.

The department also has had rules in place since 2002 restricting the movement of captive deer and elk into or within the state, and subjecting those animals to marking and reporting requirements.

Here are some guidelines for hunters when out in the field:

• Don’t harvest any animal that appears to be sick or behaves oddly. Call the Arizona Game and Fish Department at 1-800-352-0700 if you see an animal that is very thin, has a rough coat, drooping ears and is unafraid of humans.
• When field-dressing game, wear rubber gloves and minimize the use of a bone saw to cut through the brain or spinal cord (backbone). Bone out the meat. Minimize contact with and do not consume brain or spinal cord tissues, eyes, spleen, or lymph nodes.
• Always wash hands thoroughly after dressing and processing game meat.
• If you hunt in another state, don’t bring back the brain, intact skull or spinal column. It’s OK to bring back hides and skull plates that have been cleaned of all tissue and washed in bleach.
• Taxidermied heads, sawed-off antlers and ivory teeth are OK to bring home.
• If you intend to hunt out of state, contact the wildlife agency in the area you intend to hunt. Several states have regulations on carcass movement.

Learn more about chronic wasting disease at these Web sites:

• Chronic Wasting Disease Alliance

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

If you’re hunting out of state this year, remember that regulations prohibit the importation into New Hampshire of hunter-killed deer, elk and moose carcasses or parts of carcasses from the 16 states and provinces where Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) has been found, except for de-boned meat, antlers, antlers attached to skull caps with all soft tissue removed, upper canine teeth with all soft tissue removed, hides or capes with no part of the head attached and finished taxidermy mounts.

CWD is a brain disease that is fatal to deer, elk and moose, and it continues to be a concern for deer hunters and wildlife professionals in New Hampshire. Annual monitoring efforts from 2002 through 2006 have not detected CWD in any New England state. CWD-positive deer have been found as far east as New York and West Virginia.

Prevention of CWD in New Hampshire remains a top priority. For a Q&A on CWD-related efforts and guidelines in New Hampshire, visit http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/Wildlife/CWD_QandA.htm.

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) will continue surveillance for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) by taking random samples from hunter-killed deer on certain Wildlife Management Areas (WMA) and on private lands through a cooperative effort with landowners this fall. The disease has never been documented in Louisiana or any other Southeastern state to date.

There is no indication that CWD of deer and elk can be transmitted between species other than cervids (deer family), and there is no indication that the disease can be transmitted to humans either by contact with or consumption of hunter-killed deer. However, this disease represents a very significant threat to North America’s deer and elk population.

LDWF has conducted annual disease and parasite surveys on the state’s deer herd since the mid-1960s. CWD testing was added to the disease surveillance program for the first time in 2002. Louisiana’s CWD surveillance program was developed from guidelines and recommendations originating from the Southeast Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study (SCWDS) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). CWD belongs to a group of diseases known as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). Other more commonly known forms of TSEs include scrapie in sheep and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE or mad cow disease) in cattle.

CWD attacks the central nervous system of the deer or elk and presents symptoms including extreme weight loss, excessive salivation, increased drinking and urination, and poor coordination. The disease is infectious and always fatal to deer and elk. Chronic wasting disease has a prolonged incubation period and no practical test exists to detect the disease in live animals since examination requires brain tissue samples.

Hunters can help fight the spread of CWD to Louisiana. Hunters traveling to states with confirmed cases of chronic wasting disease are urged to return with only the following into Louisiana: portions of meat that has been boned out with no part of the spinal column or head attached, completely skinned out hides with tailbone removed, clean skulls or skull plates with antlers attached, antlers (detached from the skull plate); clean upper canine teeth, and finished taxidermy heads.

States where CWD has been diagnosed include: Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming and the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan.

Evidence exists that the CWD agent can remain viable in the soil for several years. This has been demonstrated at two research facilities where the disease was present in deer or elk. The diseased animals were removed, and the facilities underwent complete disinfecting and no animals were present for an extended period of time. Once animals were returned to the facility, they became infected with CWD. If hunters dispose of infected carcass parts in Louisiana, the potential exists for the disease agent to infect deer in the local area.

New Hampshire’s white-tailed deer population once again showed no evidence of chronic wasting disease , based on monitoring data gathered during the 2006 hunting season. New Hampshire Fish and Game Deer Biologist Kent Gustafson recently received results from a federally certified veterinary diagnostic laboratory that indicate that all the deer tissue samples taken during last fall’s hunting season tested negative for CWD. A total of 460 tissue samples were tested.
Chronic wasting disease is a neurological disorder that is fatal to white-tailed deer, mule deer, elk and moose. The World Health Organization has concluded that there is no evidence that people can become infected with CWD.
During the fall 2006 deer hunting season, New Hampshire Fish and Game collected heads from hunter-killed deer across the state for testing. The monitoring is part of a nationwide effort to identify areas with CWD. As a result of these efforts, more than 1,890 deer have been tested in New Hampshire since testing began in 2002.
Chronic wasting disease was first identified in 1978 and remained isolated in Colorado, Wyoming and Nebraska for about a decade. CWD has been found as far east as New York and West Virginia, bringing the disease far closer to New Hampshire’s borders. To date, CWD has been detected in wild or captive deer or elk in a total of 16 states and provinces. These include Alberta, Canada; Colorado; Illinois; Kansas; Minnesota; Montana; Nebraska; New Mexico; New York; Oklahoma; Saskatchewan, Canada; South Dakota; Utah; West Virginia; Wisconsin; and Wyoming. A nationwide effort is underway to prevent further spread of the disease. This effort includes collecting annual samples of deer tissue as part of ongoing monitoring and surveillance efforts and restricting the transport of potentially infected animals or tissues.
People who make hunting trips to the 16 CWD-positive jurisdictions listed above can help keep New Hampshire CWD-free by closely following the mandatory regulations on bringing home deer, elk or moose carcasses. You may legally bring back ONLY deboned meat, antlers, upper canine teeth and/or hides or capes with no part of the head attached. Antlers attached to skull caps or canine teeth must have all soft tissue removed.
While research continues, current information suggests that CWD is most likely transmitted by an abnormal protein present in the nervous system and lymphatic tissue of infected animals. These abnormal proteins are very stable and may persist in the environment for long periods, posing a risk to animals that come into contact with them.
For more information about CWD and New Hampshire’s monitoring efforts, visit the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department website at http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/wildlife/CWD_QandA.htm. Additional information on the disease can be found from the Chronic Wasting Disease Alliance at http://www.cwd-info.org.
The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department is the guardian of the state’s fish, wildlife and marine resources and their habitats. Visit http://www.WildNH.com.

Wisconsin has been one of the states most proactive in the battle against Chronic Wasting Disease . A form of the same fatal brain illness as mad cow disease, CWD actually forms holes in animals’ brains, causing a variety of illnesses, including weight loss, tremors, odd - almost crazy behavior- and, eventually death. There are no reported instances of an infected animal having ever recovered from CWD.
To date, deer and elk in 14 states have been found to have CWD. There is no evidence, however, that people have ever caught chronic wasting disease from infected deer or elk.
Since it was discovered in Wisconsin in 2002, the state’s wildlife agencies have poured more than $27 million into efforts to prevent the spread of the disease.
A state audit says the efforts aren’t working.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has tried a variety of containment measures, including thinning the deer herds in areas where CWD has been found. Those measures have included lengthening hunting seasons and requiring hunters to shoot a doe before a buck, banning feeding deer in 26 states, offering rewards and cheap permits to hunters; even employing contract sharpshooters.
Instead of a reduction in CWD, the audit says the estimated number of deer with chronic wasting disease has increased, from 26 deer per square mile in 2002 to an estimated 38 per mile in 2005.
“Compared to other states in which CWD has been identified, Wisconsin has taken an aggressive approach to addressing the disease,” the audit said. “That approach also has been more costly, but it has not been effective to date.”
DNR Secretary Scott Hassett has conceded CWD can’t be eradicated in the near future.
In a letter to state auditor Janice Mueller responding to the report, Hasset says: “Wisconsin received a lot of advice, but no one handed us a road map,”
Wisconsin’s hunters may be one variable that’s frustrating the FWD efforts.
The report admits that, even when offered rewards of up to $1,000, hunters are “reluctant to shoot more animals than they can use. As an effort to combat that reluctance, the state audit suggest stepping up education and informational seminars for hunters, helping them understand the need to drastically reduce the deer population in areas where CWD has been found. Other steps suggested by the audit include another round of reduced hunting fees and increased harvest limits in areas with CWD and stepping up the state sharpshooter efforts.
Another alternative is suggested, but not recommended: reducing funding, taking no additional actions, and letting the disease run its course.
That course, fortunately, is not recommended by the audit.

Hunters can once again assist the Arizona Game and Fish Department’s surveillance efforts for chronic wasting disease this hunting season by submitting the heads of their deer or elk for testing. The department’s goal is to test 1,600 heads this season.
CWD is a neurological disease that is fatal to deer and elk. There is no scientific evidence to show it affects humans. Although the disease has not yet been found in Arizona, it has been detected in three bordering states: Colorado, Utah and New Mexico.
“Over the last several years the Arizona Game and Fish Department has been aggressively monitoring for CWD in our state,” says Lisa Shender, the department’s wildlife disease specialist. “The assistance of hunters has been invaluable in enabling us to obtain and test samples.”
Hunters can bring the head of their recently harvested deer or elk to any Game and Fish Department office between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Place the head in a plastic garbage bag for delivery, and keep it cool and out of the sun if possible.
To better assist the surveillance efforts, you will be asked to fill out a form when you drop off your deer or elk head. Please include the following information: county and game management unit in which the animal was harvested, hunt and permit number, and an address and phone number where you can be reached. Note: If this information is not provided, the department will be unable to test the sample.
You will be notified of CWD test results by postcard within six to eight weeks. There is no charge to you for the testing and notification.
Although no evidence exists of CWD affecting humans, hunters are advised to avoid harvesting any animal that appears sick, and avoid consuming or handling any brain or spinal tissue.
Hunters are also asked to be observant in the field. If you see a deer or elk displaying symptoms of CWD, such as emaciation, stumbling gait, drooping ears, rough hair condition, visible salivation, or loss of fear of humans, please contact the Game and Fish Department at 352-0700.
In order to minimize the chance of the disease entering Arizona through the transport of infected animal tissues, hunters are also asked to take precautions when bringing harvested deer or elk into Arizona from another state. For a list of guidelines, or to learn more about CWD, visit azgfd.gov/cwd.

In order to prevent the spread of Chronic Wasting Disease, California hunters who bring game from out of state must follow regulations or face penalties. This is the second year the California Department of Fish and Game will cite returning hunters who violate the state’s regulation against CWD, a fatal neurological disease that has already been found in 14 states and two Canadian provinces.
“Hunters are key players in keeping CWD out of California, and need to be aware of the deer and elk carcass importation law,” said Assistant Chief Mike McBride. “The Department’s effort at education is now being supported by active enforcement. Being unaware is no longer an excuse.”
Passed in 2002, the CWD regulation helps protect the state’s deer and elk herds. If convicted of importing any part of a deer or elk’s brain or spinal column, the court could fine the violator up to $1,000 and impose a six-month jail term. DFG will seize any animal believed to carry CWD.
According to the California Code of Regulations, Title 14, Section 712, only the following hunter-harvested deer and elk parts are allowed into California:
Boned out meat and commercially processed cuts of meat
Portions of meat with no part of the spinal column or head attached
Hides with no heads attached
Clean skull plates with antlers attached
Antlers with no meat or tissue attached
Finished taxidermy heads
Upper canine teeth
During DFG-operated checkpoints last year at Department of Food and Agriculture inspection stations, wardens saw an extremely low compliance rate - only 5 percent at one location, McBride said.
“Hunters who have spent a lot of money to go out of state to hunt should be prepared to go to court and spend more money if they bring back illegal portions of deer or elk,” said McBride. “The time has come to get tough against those who put California at risk from this disease.”
Besides checkpoints, wardens have authority to inspect harvested game, and, based on their observations and experience, can conduct vehicle stops once successful hunters return to California.
Although not present in California, CWD has been detected in Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. It has also been detected in the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta. Scientists have no cure for the disease, which remains resilient and has a long incubation period.
Scientists first saw CWD in captive deer and elk in the 1960s and in wild deer and elk in the early 1980s. By the mid-1990s, scientists identified the disease in several captive herds and believed it spread among captive herds when owners unknowingly exported sick animals to other states. Today, the disease is in wild deer and elk in at least 11 states. How CWD spread to wild deer in most cases is unknown. Scientists know little about how the disease transmits from animal to animal.
California is considered a low risk state for CWD due to its long-term ban on the importation of live elk, its prohibition on elk farming, and its strict monitoring of live deer importations. Because of that, DFG Wildlife Veterinarian Dr. Pam Swift said DFG believes the likely introduction of CWD would be through hunters bringing in infected carcasses.
“Animals carry the disease in their nervous tissue, and California’s regulation bans importing brain or spinal cord tissue from deer and elk harvested out of state,” Swift said.
For more information about Chronic Wasting Disease, visit the DFG Web site: http://www.dfg.ca.gov/hunting/deer/wasting.html, or go to www.cwd-info.org.

The Board of Animal Health announced today that chronic wasting disease has been detected in one domestic white-tailed deer on a cervid farm in Lac qui Parle County, which is located in southwestern Minnesota.
Immediately, DNR officials will conduct a local deer survey to determine the number of wild deer in the area. It is expected that not many deer will be found because the area is highly agricultural, with little deer habitat surrounding the farm. DNR will conduct opportunistic sampling of deer, like road kills, in the immediate area now and will conduct intensive hunter-harvested surveillance during the 2006 firearm deer season.
Although this positive animal is a captive deer, DNR has conducted surveillance for CWD in wild deer in the area. The farm is located near the northern boundary of deer permit area 447, where wild deer surveillance for CWD last occurred in 2003.
Lou Cornicelli, DNR big game program coordinator, said, “In 2003, we conducted wild deer CWD surveillance in adjoining permit areas 433, 446 and 447. In total, we collected 392 samples from those permit areas during the regular firearm deer season and CWD was not detected.”
The sampling of wild deer was designed statistically to have a 95 percent confidence of detecting a 1 percent infection rate, according to Mike DonCarlos, DNR wildlife programs manager.
“This situation is very similar to the positive elk farm discovered in Stearns County in 2003, which followed the first discovery of CWD in an Aitkin County elk farm,” DonCarlos said. “The DNR response will be similar to the Stearns County action and will include an initial assessment of wild deer populations in the area and development of a surveillance program for next fall.”
From 2002 to 2004, DNR staff collected nearly 28,000 CWD samples statewide and no disease found in the wild herd.
“The intensive surveillance conducted in 2003 indicated CWD was not present in wild deer,” Cornicelli said. “In addition, all indications are that this positive captive deer has not contacted any wild deer, but we will conduct additional surveillance this fall to be sure.”

MADISON - The public will have an opportunity to comment on proposed deer hunting rules in zones established to control and eliminate chronic wasting disease in Wisconsin at a series of open house meetings and public hearings across southern Wisconsin.
The Department of Natural Resources will conduct five deer management open houses and public hearings for the 2006 CWD hunting season.
Alan Crossley, DNR chronic wasting disease project leader based at Fitchburg said DNR staff have “been listening to hunters and landowners in the CWD zones and we believe hunters will see what they’ve told us reflected in the CWD rule proposals.”
Highlights of the proposed changes include: unlimited either sex deer hunting in both the CWD Herd Reduction Zone and Disease Eradication Zones ; shorter and earlier gun seasons in the Eastern and Western DEZs; longer closed period for gun hunting in the DEZs; longer early gun season in the HRZ and shorter late gun season in the CWD Zones; and identical hunting seasons in the CWD Zones. The department is not recommending any boundary changes to the CWD management zones.
Each Open House will run from 5 to 7 p.m. Hunters will be able to talk with DNR wildlife biologists about the 2005 hunting seasons, population estimates, deer hunting prospects in area deer managements units , and the proposed CWD rules. Following the open houses a formal, public hearing on the proposed revisions will begin at 7 p.m. The hearings will be held:
March 13, Waukesha, Waukesha State Office Building, 141 NW Barstow,
March 14, Prairie du Sac, Grand Avenue Elementary School Theater, 225 Grand Ave.
March 15
Jefferson, Jefferson Co. Fairgrounds Activity Center, 503 N. Jackson Ave.,
Kenosha, Kenosha Center, Kenosha County Administration Center, 1010 56th St.
March 17 Dodgeville, DNR Service Center, 1500 N. Johns St.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Alan Crossley - 275-3242

PIERRE, S.D. — The closing of South Dakota’s big game hunting seasons means the end of the major sampling for the 2005-2006 chronic wasting disease surveillance program.
“The majority of samples are submitted during the deer and elk seasons for our state,” said Game, Fish and Parks biologist Steve Griffin. “Our most efficient method of sampling is to gather materials from deer and elk that hunters have harvested.”
Chronic Wasting Disease is a fatal disease that affects the central nervous system of primarily deer and elk. Biologists have been concerned that the disease could have a negative impact on big game herds if it is not monitored closely.
“In South Dakota we concentrate our surveillance in areas where the disease had been found in the past,” Griffin said. “These areas include Fall River, Custer and Pennington counties in southwestern South Dakota and in the Black Hills area. We also sample any sick deer or elk that are found anywhere in the state.”
Since July 1, 2005, GFP has collected 3,235 samples from big game animals for CWD testing. The samples were collected from 759 elk, 862 mule deer and 1,614 white-tailed deer.
A total of four elk, four mule deer and four white-tailed deer were found with the disease. The positive animals and their approximate location include:
Mule deer from West River Deer hunting unit 27A in Fall River County, found sick and tested.
White-tailed deer from Black Hills Deer unit BD4 in Custer County, found sick and tested.
Elk from Black Hills Elk unit H3A in Fall River County — submitted by a hunter.
Elk from Black Hills Elk unit H5A in Pennington County — submitted by a hunter.
Elk from Wind Cave National Park — found sick and tested.
Mule deer from West River Deer unit 27A in Fall River County — submitted by a hunter.
Mule deer from West River Deer unit 27A in Fall River County — submitted by a hunter.
Elk from Wind Cave National Park — found sick and tested.
Mule deer from West River Deer unit 27A in Fall River County — submitted by a hunter.
White-tailed deer from West River Deer unit 27B in Fall River County — submitted by a hunter.
White-tailed deer from West River Deer unit 27B in Fall River County — submitted by a hunter.
White-tailed deer from West River Deer unit 21A in Pennington County — killed by a vehicle and tested.
Since South Dakota began CWD surveillance in 1997, 12,288 animals have been tested and 45 cases of CWD have been detected. The total includes 32 deer and 13 elk, with six of the elk and eight of the deer coming from Wind Cave National Park.
“Testing will continue on any sick deer or elk that are located in South Dakota,” Griffin said. “I encourage anyone who spots a sickly looking deer or elk to report it to their local conservation officer or nearest GFP office.”

PIERRE, S.D. — Current results from South Dakota’s 2005 Chronic Wasting Disease testing reveal that four deer and three elk have tested positive for the disease.
Since July 1, 2005, samples for 2,979 animals have been collected for testing. Most samples are from the Black Hills and from prairie hunting units in Fall River, Custer and eastern Pennington counties of western South Dakota. Most samples were taken from hunter-harvested animals. Specific numbers and species tested include:
741 elk.
746 mule deer.
1492 white-tailed deer.
As of Jan. 6, results on 2,252 samples have returned from the South Dakota State University Diagnostic Laboratory or from Wind Cave National Park. Returned samples include:
553 elk.
554 mule deer.
1145 white-tailed deer.
Of the 2,252 samples tested to date, four CWD positive deer and three CWD positive elk have been found. A summary of these seven animals and how they were detected includes:
Male mule deer from unit 27A in Fall River County .
Male white-tailed deer from unit BD4 in Custer County .
Male elk from unit H3A in Fall River County .
Male elk from unit H5A in Pennington County .
Female elk from Wind Cave National Park .
Male mule deer from unit 27A in Fall River County .
Male mule deer from unit 27A in Fall River County .
To date, South Dakota has found 40 cases of CWD in free ranging animals since testing began in 1997. Wind Cave National Park accounts for 13 of these animals . A total of 12,032 wild deer and elk have been tested for CWD in South Dakota since testing began in 1997.

CWD testing for deer was mandatory in area units during 2005 hunting season.
None of the more than 1,300 deer tested for chronic wasting disease in the Gunnison Basin during the 2005 big-game hunting season tested positive for the disease.
Although it is impossible to prove the disease is totally absent from the Gunnison Basin, the latest results suggest if the disease is present it is at very low prevalence rates. Colorado Division of Wildlife biologists explain that the agency can say with 95 percent confidence that the prevalence of chronic wasting disease is less than 1 percent in the deer population in the Gunnison area.
The DOW mandated testing for CWD in deer during the most recent season in Game Management Units 54, 55, 551, 66 and 67. Hunters responded by turning in 1,316 heads for testing; another 23 deer killed by vehicles also were tested.
The DOW, which has tested for CWD in the Gunnison area intermittently since the early 1990s, reached its short-term sampling goals in the basin with this year’s submissions. As a result, no mandatory testing will be required for the foreseeable future.
“Obviously, this is great news for the Gunnison area and we thank hunters for responding to the call,” said Tom Spezze, the DOW’s southwest regional manager. “The Division of Wildlife will continue to work diligently to monitor chronic wasting disease throughout the state.”
Elk also were checked for CWD in the basin; testing, however, was not mandatory. No CWD has been detected in the approximately 1,000 elk tested in the Gunnison area since 2002.
While the results are encouraging, the local DOW managers will keep their eyes on the herds. If any Gunnison-area residents see deer, elk, or moose that appear to be ill, they should call the local DOW office at 641-7060.

LITTLE ROCK - The potential effects of chronic wasting disease to Arkansas’ deer population compelled the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission to make permanent a ban on the importation of cervid carcasses. The permanent ban was adopted at last week’s monthly commission meeting.
An emergency ban had been in place since October, but would have expired in February 2006 if the ban had not been permanent. In 2002, the AGFC passed a similar law making it illegal to import, ship, transport or carry into the state, by any means, any live member of the cervid family, including but not limited to white-tailed deer and elk.
The new ban makes it unlawful to import or possess in Arkansas a cervid carcass or carcass part from any area, as proclaimed by the AGFC, that has a known case of CWD or considered taken from a captive facility or within an enclosure.
One way that the disease can be transmitted is by infected carcasses. Twenty-three states have adopted regulations affecting the transportation of hunter-harvested cervids.
Chronic wasting disease is a nervous system disease that has been observed in deer and elk in Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, New York, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Montana, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming and the two Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta. The disease causes damage to portions of the animal’s brain and there is no cure for the fatal disease.
There are, however, a few exceptions to the ban:
Meat that has the bones removed.
Meat that has no portions of the spinal column or head attached.
Antlers, antlers attached to cleaned skull plates, or cleaned skulls.
Cleaned teeth.
Finished taxidermy products.
Hides and tanned products.
Deer or elk harvested in commercial wildlife hunting resorts.
In other business, the Commission:
*Increased the non-resident annual fishing license fee to $40 from the present price of $32. The fee was last increased by $2 on Jan. 1, 2000. The new price increase will not go into effect until Jan. 9, 2006.
*Approved a budget increase in the amount of $148,480 for the replacement of the Hubble Bridge on Dave Donaldson Black River WMA in Clay County. The wooden bridge was destroyed when a loaded log truck collapsed the bridge this summer. The new concrete bridge was completed shortly before duck season opened this year.
*Approved a minute order to name an access on Plum Bayou after Bill Clubbs of England. The lifelong hunter and fisherman has fished the bayou for many years. Several residents of England and Lonoke County petitioned the Commission to make the change.
*Approved the 2006 fisheries regulation code changes. The commission will also consider a change that would leave freshwater eels out of the definition of rough fish. The eel is now considered a Species of Greatest Conservation Need. Another consideration dealt with wasting edible portions of fish to exempt rough fish, excluding buffalo, which would allow bow anglers to aid in removing fish not normally consumed as food and undesirable species such as Asian carp to be removed from Arkansas waters.
*Approved $27,500 in funding for a forest management research project on Dagmar and Rex Hancock Black Swamp wildlife management areas. The AGFC agreed to a one-year moratorium on forest management on the two WMAs after the rediscovery of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker. The AGFC will be a partner in the study along with the White River and Cache River national wildlife refuges, the Lower Mississippi Valley Joint Venture and the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. The groups will test theories of forest management alternatives that would create and retain needed Ivory-billed Woodpecker habitat.

ANNAPOLIS — In an on going effort to protect the state’s deer herd from Chronic Wasting Disease , the Maryland Department of Natural Resources requests that Maryland deer hunters voluntarily abide by certain guidelines when bringing deer parts into Maryland from West Virginia or other CWD-positive states or Canadian Provinces. CWD, a fatal disease of deer and elk, was recently discovered in several white-tailed deer in Hampshire County, West Virginia.
The guidelines for hunters are:
Hunters can bring into Maryland deer meat that is detached from the bones, cleaned hide and cape, antlers, antlers attached to a clean skull cap, clean upper canine elk teeth, a tanned hide or finished taxidermy mount.
All other parts should be disposed in the state or province of harvest according to that state or province’s guidelines.
DNR thanks all hunters for voluntarily cooperating with these guidelines. Regulations will be proposed for the 2006-07 deer hunting seasons that will restrict the importation of certain deer parts from CWD positive states and provinces.
Further in formation on CWD can be found on the DNR website www.dnr.maryland.gov and the CWD Alliance website www.cwd-info.org.

The Department of Fish and Wildlife is seeking hunters’ cooperation this fall as it continues to check deer and elk for chronic wasting disease during the fall hunting season.
This year’s effort will focus on the far eastern side of the state where there is a high density of deer and elk, said Kristin Mansfield, WDFW wildlife veterinarian.
“No cases of CWD have been found in Washington since we began testing for it in 1995 — and we want to keep it that way,” Mansfield said. “Hunters can help by stopping at voluntary check stations so their game can be sampled.”
The disease can be spread among deer and elk, but there are no cases of people, domestic animals or livestock becoming infected, Mansfield said. She noted that WDFW has tested 3,868 samples since monitoring began, including 1,615 taken last year. All have tested negative.
Most of those samples were collected at hunter check stations and tested in a laboratory using brain stem or lymph node tissue taken from dead animals. This year, WDFW will set up drop-off stations the week after the season opens and offer hunters a chance to win prizes for turning in deer and elk heads.
Hunters can also help by reporting deer and elk that are acting sick or behaving strangely, Mansfield said. Infected animals lose weight and coordination, become lethargic, hang their heads, droop their ears, and salivate more than normal.
CWD causes animals’ brain tissue to deteriorate similar to mad cow disease and is always fatal. Since CWD was first identified in Colorado in 1967, it has been found in 12 other states and two Canadian provinces.
Although no CWD-infected deer or elk have been found in Washington and the disease hasn’t been shown to spread to humans, hunters can take extra precautions by not eating the brain, spinal cord, eyes, spleen, pancreas or lymph nodes of deer and elk. Mansfield also recommended that, as a general rule, hunters not harvest animals that appear ill, and practice good hygiene by wearing rubber gloves while field dressing game and thoroughly washing their hands and equipment after processing carcasses.

CONCORD, N.H. - New Hampshire’s deer population shows no evidence of chronic wasting disease , based on monitoring data gathered during the 2004 hunting season. New Hampshire Fish and Game Deer Biologist Kent Gustafson recently received results from a federally certified veterinary diagnostic laboratory which indicate that all the deer brain samples taken during last fall’s hunting season tested negative for CWD.
Chronic wasting disease is a fatal neurological disorder known to affect white-tailed deer, mule deer and elk. The World Health Organization has concluded that there is no evidence that people can become infected with CWD.
During the fall 2004 deer hunting season, New Hampshire Fish and Game collected heads from hunter-killed deer across the state for testing. A total of 385 deer heads were sampled. The monitoring is part of a nationwide effort to identify areas with CWD; as a result of these efforts, more than 1,000 deer have been tested in New Hampshire since 2002.
Chronic wasting disease was first identified in 1978 and remained isolated in Colorado, Wyoming and Nebraska for about a decade. This spring, CWD was detected in both captive and wild deer in New York State, bringing the disease far closer to New Hampshire’s borders than ever before. To date, CWD has been detected in wild or captive deer or elk in a total of 15 states and provinces. These include Alberta, Canada; Colorado; Illinois; Kansas; Minnesota; Montana; Nebraska; New Mexico; New York; Oklahoma; Saskatchewan, Canada; South Dakota; Utah; Wisconsin; and Wyoming. A nationwide effort is underway to prevent further spread. This effort includes collecting annual samples of deer tissue as part of ongoing monitoring and surveillance efforts.
People who make hunting trips to the 15 CWD-positive jurisdictions listed above can help keep New Hampshire CWD-free by closely following the regulations on bringing home deer or elk carcasses. For example, you can bring back ONLY deboned meat, antlers, upper canine teeth and/or hides or capes with no part of the head attached. Antlers attached to skull caps or canine teeth must have all soft tissue removed.
While research continues, current information suggests that CWD is most likely transmitted by an abnormal protein present in the nervous system and lymphatic tissue of infected animals. These abnormal proteins are very stable and may persist in the environment for long periods, posing a risk to animals that come into contact with them.
A fact sheet with frequently asked questions about CWD can be found at http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/wildlife/CWD_QandA.htm.

PIERRE, S.D. - South Dakota’s final numbers for the past Chronic Wasting Disease surveillance year are being analyzed, and of the 2,694 samples collected, seven deer and four elk have tested positive for Chronic Wasting Disease.
“These numbers include 700 elk, 753 mule deer, and 1,241 white-tailed deer,” said Game, Fish and Parks Wildlife Biologist Steve Griffin of Rapid City. “All positive tests are from free-ranging animals that were tested from July 1, 2004 to June 15, 2005.”
Most samples are from the Black Hills and from prairie hunting units in Fall River, Custer and eastern Pennington counties of western South Dakota that were taken from hunter-harvested animals, along with some samples from research animals out of Wind Cave National Park.
Of the 2,694 samples received in this last year, tests have revealed another seven CWD positive deer and four CWD positive elk. A summary of these animals includes:
White-tailed deer male from Unit 327B in Fall River County. .
Mule deer male from Unit 327B in Fall River County. .
White-tailed deer male from unit 327B in Fall River County. .
Elk female from unit 403B in Fall River County. .
White-tailed deer female from unit 327B in Fall River County .
Mule deer male from Wind Cave National Park. .
Mule deer female from Wind Cave National Park. .
White-tailed female from Wind Cave National Park .
Elk female from Custer State Park .
Elk female from unit 403B in Custer County. .
Elk male from Wind Cave National Park. .
Since testing began in 1997, South Dakota has found 33 cases of CWD in free ranging deer and elk. Wind Cave National Park accounts for 12 of these animals . A total of 9,053 wild deer and elk have been tested for CWD since testing began in 1997.
South Dakota’s Department of Game Fish and Parks will continue with the CWD Surveillance Program again this year. As in past years, GFP will focus its efforts for the CWD surveillance program in areas where CWD has been recently detected in captive animals, and/or in wild free-roaming populations of deer and elk. Surveillance is being concentrated in the southwestern part of South Dakota, which includes Fall River County, Custer County, parts of Pennington County and the Black Hills. Testing is also being conducted on any sick animals that are discovered in South Dakota as part of the surveillance program.
Black Hills deer hunters, West River deer hunters and elk hunters that choose to hunt in the CWD surveillance area listed above will be contacted by mail with information and instructions on how to participate in the surveillance program. “We are very appreciative of hunters that have participated in the past, and we would not be able to collect adequate samples if they were not involved,” Griffin said. All hunters who submit a sample with the proper information will receive a letter with results of the CWD test as soon as the results are returned from the South Dakota State University Diagnostic Laboratory.
Anyone interested in learning more about Chronic Wasting Disease in South Dakota can call the Rapid City Regional Office at 394-2391 or visit the GFP website at www.sdgfp.info and look under hunting for the link to Chronic Wasting Disease. The website will give updates on CWD testing in South Dakota along with maps of the locations of positive deer and elk that have been found in South Dakota. There are also links to other states and to the National CWD Alliance Website.
Hunters from outside of the established CWD surveillance area can get their animal tested for chronic wasting disease by making their own arrangements directly through the SDSU Diagnostic Lab at 688-5171.

Officials from the North Dakota Game and Fish Department continue to receive good news from scientists conducting tests for chronic wasting disease.
Test results for CWD on more than 1,900 wild deer and 26 elk collected from hunters during the 2004 hunting season are negative, according to Greg Link, department assistant wildlife chief.
Samples for CWD testing were sent to the Wyoming State Veterinary Lab last December, and game and fish officials were notified of the results Wednesday. “This is good news,” Link said. “However, continued vigilance is the key to managing this disease and we won’t be letting our guard down. We’re already in the process of setting up next hunting season’s sampling effort.”
Samples from hunter-harvested deer were taken from animals last fall in six of the eight CWD surveillance units in the state. The six units cover most of the state, except for a couple of units in the southeast where sampling in previous years achieved the statistical quota. “The efforts from hunters, fur buyers, meat processors, our staff and other agencies have been tremendous,” Link said. “We’re very appreciative of their cooperation and assistance.”
The goal of the Hunter-Harvested Surveillance program is to obtain a statistically significant sample in each surveillance unit within a two-year period, Link said. “Over the last three years, the entire state has been sampled,” he added. “In all but one surveillance unit in northeastern North Dakota, we’ve obtained and tested enough samples to say with a high degree of confidence that CWD is likely not present.”
Since 2002, more than 4,000 deer and 80 elk have tested negative for CWD. To date, CWD has not been diagnosed in wild or farmed deer or elk in North Dakota.
“We will continue to be aggressive in our monitoring efforts and support for CWD research,” Link said, while noting the department will continue to monitor and collect suspect deer and elk, including road-killed animals, throughout the year.
Chronic wasting disease affects the nervous system of white-tailed deer, mule deer and elk and is always fatal. Scientists have found no evidence that CWD can be transmitted naturally to humans or livestock.