GILLETTE, Wyo. — Wildlife managers have confirmed a suspected case of chronic wasting disease in a mule deer buck recently euthanized near Rock Springs, according to the Wyoming Game and Fish Department.
The deer was located in Deer Hunt Area 131 in the Green River Region; it is believed to be part of the Sublette mule deer herd, where CWD was first detected in 2017 in an area bordered by six other CWD-positive areas.
CWD is a prion disease affecting members of the Cervidae, or deer, family, which includes deer, elk and moose, among others, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The disease is 100% fatal to deer, elk and moose that have been infected, per Game and Fish, which last year tested over 6,000 lymph node samples for CWD. The department intends to continue evaluating new recommendations for how to manage the disease and notify hunters whenever CWD is found in new hunt areas.
The CDC recommends hunters avoid consuming any animal that is obviously ill or that tests positive for CWD.
A map of CWD-endemic areas is available on the Game and Fish website.
