SALT LAKE CITY — Successful deer hunters in many Utah hunting units are asked to stop at check stations during fall hunts.
Officials across the state will check for chronic wasting disease, a communicable disease that affects the nervous systems of deer, elk and moose. Infected animals develop brain damage, appear listless, have drooping ears and eventually die. In the early stages of the disease, deer appear healthy (including animals that may be taken by hunters), so the only way to know if your deer is infected is to test it.
Data collected at checkpoints is critical to helping the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources monitor chronic wasting disease and maintain healthy deer populations in Utah. A total of 435 mule deer and 11 elk have tested positive for the disease in Utah, according to the division. The disease is found primarily in the northeast and southeast regions of the state.
If you harvested a deer this year that was extremely thin, walked in tight circles, or had excess saliva, the DWR encourages you to have it tested. There are technicians in every region of the state who can test deer for chronic wasting disease.
For more information, visit wildlife.utah.gov.
Gn Health
