Chronic Wasting Disease deer hunts off to good start

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Idaho hunters are apparently eager to help the Idaho Department of Fish and Game gather chronic wasting disease samples.

About 180 people were in line at the Idaho Fish and Game office in Lewiston on Tuesday when more than 500 public land deer tags went on sale at 9 a.m. Dozens were waiting at the M.K. Nature Center in Boise and at a regional office in Nampa as well. Chronic wasting disease was documented in Idaho for the first time this fall. Lymph nodes taken from two mule deer bucks killed in Unit 14 tested positive for the fatal neurological disorder.

The tags that went on sale at 9 a.m. Tuesday are part of an effort by the department to measure the prevalence and geographic distribution of the disease. Agency officials planned dozens of surveillance hunts on both public and private land in and around Unit 14 that stretches from Cottonwood to Riggins. In total, they plan on offering more than 1,500 deer tags to Idaho residents and hope to collect nearly 800 samples. Fish and Game officials are also collecting samples from road-killed deer and elk. (Lewiston Tribune)

For more info about the hunts, click here. 

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