ODFW release – SALEM, Ore.— During the 2023 deer and elk hunting seasons, ODFW will increase sampling efforts for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) throughout the state by providing hunters with quick and easy opportunities to have their harvested animal tested. As a reminder to hunters, CWD check stations are mandatory to stop at if you pass one along the highway or interstate while transporting a harvested deer or elk. For a list of CWD check station locations, ODFW offices and other ways to get your deer or elk tested, such as at a taxidermist or meat processor, visit: https://myodfw.com/CWD. CWD was detected in northern Idaho in 2021, just 30 miles from the Oregon border. It is always fatal to deer and elk and there is no cure. The more animals that are tested, the more certain ODFW can be that the disease is not in the state. If it is detected, ODFW can implement its response plan to contain the spread of CWD. “With the disease detected in multiple species so close to Oregon, we are concerned it could already be here,” said Dr. Colin Gillin, ODFW state wildlife veterinarian. “That’s why we are asking successful hunters to please get their animal tested.” Deer and elk that have CWD can be shedding it in soil and spreading it for years before showing any symptoms. That is why ODFW has surveilled deer and elk herds for CWD for more than 20 years by testing approximately 27,000 hunter-harvested, road-killed, and other deceased animals and not yet detecting it in Oregon. “There is no cure, no treatment, or vaccine for the disease, and it is fatal to all animals that become infected,” continued Gillin. “But if we catch it early, we will have the best chance of minimizing its spread and impact on Oregon’s big game herds.”
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