Hunting – Region 4

Thursday, February 08, 2018

At the end of the fifth weekend of the Sage Creek Special Chronic Wasting Disease Hunt in northern Liberty County, hunters have checked in 113 mule deer.

So far 109 of the deer have tested negative for CWD, test results from the remaining deer are pending.

The hunt started Jan. 6 and will run until either Feb. 15 or a 157-deer quota is reached.

The special hunt is designed to gather information about the distribution and prevalence of CWD in deer in an area of Liberty County where a mule deer taken during the 2017 general big game season tested positive for CWD.

Hunters are required to submit their harvested deer at either an FWP check station at the rest stop on U.S. Highway 2 in Chester, 314 E. Washington Ave, or the FWP office in Havre.

CWD is a progressive, fatal neurological disease that effects deer, elk and moose. It has been present for some years in states and Canadian providences north, east and south of Montana, but was first found in wild deer in the state this fall.

CWD has not been shown to spread to people, pets, livestock or wildlife outside of the deer family. However, the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend not consuming meat from an animal known to be infected with CWD.

More information about CWD and the special hunt is available online at http://fwp.mt.gov/cwd.

News release can be found here: http://fwp.mt.gov/news/newsReleases/hunting/nr_2742.html

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