The state Game and Fish Department will continue its Hunter-Harvested Surveillance program during the 2008 hunting season by sampling deer for chronic wasting disease and bovine tuberculosis from units in central North Dakota. In addition, all moose and elk harvested in the state, regardless of hunting units, are eligible for sampling.
Samples from hunter-harvested deer will be tested from units 2H, 2I, 2J1, 2J2, 2K1, 2K2, 3A4, 3B3 and 3C. In addition, the Game and Fish Department will continue last fall’s bovine tuberculosis testing in northeastern North Dakota by collecting 250 samples from deer harvested from units 2C and 2D.
Participating hunters whose deer have been sampled will have their names entered in a drawing for five muzzleloaders and 100 Sagen Saws. Winners will be randomly selected and notified by the end of December.
Hunters are encouraged to drop off deer heads at locations in: Ashley – Ashley Super Valu Store; Bismarck – Game and Fish Department headquarters office, Call of the Wild Taxidermy, M&M Sausage and Meats; Bottineau – Davidson’s Processing; Carrington – Barton Meats, Barlow Meats; Devils Lake – Devils Lake Game and Fish district office; Edgeley – Edgeley Meat Processing; Garrison – Garrison Custom Meats; Granville – S&E Meats; Harvey – Lonetree Game and Fish district office; Heaton – Miller Game Processing; Jamestown – Jamestown Game and Fish district office; Karlsruhe – Leier’s Processing; Kulm – Peoples Meat Market; Linton – Bosch’s Meat Market, Schmaltz Meats; Mandan – Butcher Block Meats; Minot – Hensen’s Fur and Leather; Moffit – Long Lake National Wildlife Refuge office; Riverdale – Riverdale Game and Fish district office; Sheyenne – Brenno Meats; Steele – Devore Custom Meats; Turtle Lake – Barry’s Jack and Jill; Upham – J. Clark Salyer NWR office; and Woodworth – Chase Lake NWR office.
Drop off locations for deer taken from Units 2C and 2D are in Edinburg – Ellingson Meats; Fordville – Baier Body and Glass; and Langdon – Hickory Hut.
Every head sampled must have either the deer tag attached, or a new tag can be filled out with the license number, deer hunting unit and date harvested attached. Skull caps and antlers can be removed. Fawns will not be tested.
CWD affects the nervous system of members of the deer family and is always fatal. Scientists have found no evidence that CWD can be transmitted naturally to humans or livestock. To date, CWD has not been diagnosed in wild or farmed deer or elk in North Dakota.
The Game and Fish Department continues to sample the entire state over a three-year period. Animals in eastern North Dakota were tested in 2007, while the western third of the state is scheduled for 2009.
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