CODY – The Wyoming Game and Fish Department needs help from hunters this fall to collect samples from mule deer and elk for chronic wasting disease testing in target hunt areas within the Big Horn Basin.
Game and Fish requests samples from elk harvested in the North Bighorn herd consisting of Elk Hunt Areas 35, 36, 37, 38, 39 and 40 of which hunt areas 39 and 40 are within the Big Horn Basin. Game and Fish requests samples from mule deer harvested in the Shoshone River herd, consisting of Deer Hunt Areas 121, 122 and 123; the Clarks Fork herd unit, consisting of Deer Hunt Areas 105, 106 and 109 and the Southwest Bighorns herd unit, consisting of Deer Hunt Areas 35-37, 39, 40 and 164.
Game and Fish is asking hunters that harvest mule deer bucks and adult elk in these specific hunt areas to submit samples to Game and Fish for testing. Game and Fish also encourages hunters to submit samples from does and white-tailed deer within focus areas. Samples from all other deer, elk and moose harvested throughout the Big Horn Basin will be tested if requested by hunters.
In response to increasing CWD prevalence in the Southwest Bighorns Mule Deer herd unit,
Game and Fish also is implementing mandatory CWD sample submission for Type 1 and Type 7 license holders in Deer Hunt Area 164 for the 2025 hunting season. This requirement does not apply to general season, Type 3, Type 6 or Type 8 license holders, though voluntary submission is encouraged for these license types.
Samples collected from mule deer and elk harvested from targeted areas help Game and Fish track CWD as part of a long-term, statewide monitoring plan. CWD is widely distributed across Wyoming and is fatal to deer, elk and moose.
Hunters can have animals sampled at any game check station this season or by stopping by the Cody Regional Office from 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday-Friday. Additional options for testing include select processors and taxidermists throughout the Basin, drop barrels for heads located at the Cody Regional Office, Medicine Lodge State Park and in Powell at Northwest College on the south side of the Science and Math Building at 6th and Division streets.
For convenient sample submission for deer harvested in Deer Hunt Area 164, a check station will be open starting Nov. 15. Additionally, Game and Fish personnel will conduct routine field checks and will be available to collect samples throughout the entire Nov. 15-30 hunting season for Type 1 and Type 7 license holders. This targeted effort focuses on a known CWD hotspot in the northeast part of Deer Hunt Area 164, aiming to enhance data collection to inform current and future CWD management.
Hunters can also learn how to take a sample with a how-to video on the Game and Fish website.
Hunters should refer to page 7 of the 2025 Antelope, Deer and Elk Hunting Regulations for specific CWD provisions regarding transportation of harvested animals.
Although this disease has not been shown to be transmissible to humans, hunters are encouraged to wear rubber or latex gloves when dressing carcasses and avoid handling the brain and spinal tissues. When butchering, meat should be boned out. Hunters should not consume animals that appear to be sick. Hunters should also not consume the brain, spinal cord, eyes, spleen or lymph nodes. Washing hands and instruments is good practice. Knives and other equipment can be disinfected by soaking in a solution of 40% bleach and 60% water for five minutes.
Hunters interested in CWD test results of their harvested animal will need to log in through their Game and Fish user account at wgfd.wyo.gov.
