FWP sets meeting in Havre on CWD

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks is hosting a public information meeting regarding efforts to contain chronic wasting disease and changes for the upcoming hunting season. 

The meeting will be held Monday, March 11 5-6 p.m. in Havre in the conference room at the Great Northern Inn across from the Duck Inn.

Last hunting season, FWP discovered CWD in deer across the Hi-Line, one year after the first confirmation of it in wildlife in the state.

The contagious neurological disease can infect deer, elk and moose. It is always fatal and there is no known cure. Because of the new discovery, transport restrictions are in place for deer harvested in locations where CWD has been detected.

Prior to two years ago, the only animal that tested positive in the state was an elk at a game farm in Phillipsburg in 1999, although Wyoming, the Dakotas, Saskatchewan and Alberta had confirmed cases prior to that.

in 2017, the disease was confirmed in an animal harvested in Liberty County and several harvested in Carbon County. FWP then implemented testing and management plans including special hunts to test for the disease.

Hunting was closely monitored last season, and transportation restricted zones, from which brains and spinal cords of harvested animals could not be transported, were implemented.

FWP conducted CWD surveillance across the Hi-Line during the general big game season, which ended Nov. 25.

This past hunting season, 16 mule deer tested positive for chronic wasting disease in Fish, Wildlife and Parks Region 6 that starts in Hill County and stretches east, Region 6 Supervisor Mark Sullivan said at a meeting in Havre Dec. 12. Of the animals that tested positive, 15 were older bucks and one was a doe.

The total in the state was 20, including two more in Liberty County and two in the Missoula area.

While no cases of the disease infecting people have been reported, it is recommended to never ingest meat from animals that appear to be sick or are known to be CWD positive. The CDC recommends hunters who have harvested a deer, elk, or moose from a known CWD-infected area have the animal tested prior to consuming it.