BOISE, Idaho (CBS2) — Big game hunters in Idaho will face new rules surrounding Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) for the 2024 season.
Idaho Fish and Game has been closely monitoring and tracking the movement and spread of CWD through the deer population in Idaho, and hunters play a vital role in that effort. There is currently no live testing options for CWD, so hunters submitting samples from harvested deer is the best and most effective method for tracking the disease's movements.
Idaho Fish and Game reports the following changes to the 2024 hunting season:
- Unit 18 was added to Unit 14, which makes up the CWD Management Zone for 2024. Unit 15 was removed from the Management Zone because no positive animals have been found there after extensive testing.
- People hunting in CWD Management Zone must abide by special hunting rules, which can be seen on the CWD webpage.
- New for 2024, CWD testing is mandatory in Units 18, 23, 24, and 32A for mule deer and white-tailed deer and continues in Unit 14, but does not apply to elk and moose taken in any of these units. Units 23, 24, and 32A are not within the CWD Management Zone, so carcass transportation restrictions do not apply.
- Mandatory CWD testing no longer applies to elk and moose, which are less susceptible to CWD than deer. However, Fish and Game will still accept voluntary samples from hunter-harvested deer, elk, and moose in any unit.
Idaho Fish and Game says the changes are occurring because of new information that is gathered by wildlife managers about "where the disease is - and is not - based on testing."
For more information about CWD, and to see the latest from Idaho Fish and Game, click here.
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