Idaho Fish and Game is recognizing Chronic Wasting Disease Awareness Week, Sept. 15-21. The goal is to help hunters, and others who value Idaho’s wildlife, to understand why managing the disease is critical to Idaho’s future, and the role hunters play in it.

Why CWD management is important for hunters

CWD is a contagious and fatal neurological disease that affects deer, elk, and moose, and there is no cure or vaccination. Fish and Game’s CWD priority is keeping the percentage of animals infected – or prevalence – low in deer herds. CWD can’t be eradicated because it remains in the environment for decades. Keeping the prevalence low will help maintain healthy big game populations.

“I think hunters should pay attention to CWD because it affects what they love to do, which is to hunt,” Fish and Game State Wildlife Manager Rick Ward said. “We talk a lot about legacy, and how we’re going to manage hunting down the road, and we don’t want CWD to manage hunting for us.”

CWD was first discovered in Idaho in 2021 in the Slate Creek area between Whitebird and Riggins. Fish and Game also detected it in Units 1, 18 and 23, and it was detected in a domestic elk operation in Unit 63A.

Effective CWD management requires wildlife managers and hunters to adapt to changing conditions as Fish and Game gathers new information about where the disease is found - and is not found - based on testing. 

Tips for hunters

Make plans for CWD testing: Work it into your hunting season by knowing the locations of check stations, head and lymph node drop-off sites and regional offices, which are all listed on the CWD webpage, so you can conveniently have your animal tested. Hunters can also request a test kit prior to your hunt so you can submit a sample yourself.

Hunters must know the current CWD rules

Hunters in 2025 will have mandatory testing for CWD for deer in seven hunting units, including the addition of Unit 63A north of Idaho Falls. 

Fish and Game currently manages CWD through three main methods: 

• Statewide voluntary testing of deer, elk, and moose by hunters
• Mandatory testing for deer in units where it’s required (portions of Unit 1 and Units 14, 18, 23, 24, 32A, 63A)
• CWD Management Zones (mandatory testing and other special regulations)

Currently, Units 14, 18, and a portion of Unit 1 comprise the CWD Management Zone for 2025. CWD testing is mandatory for all harvested deer in those units, and the following rules also apply:

• It is unlawful to transport any whole carcass of a deer, elk, or moose out of a CWD Management Zone except heads or lymph nodes transported to Fish and Game for CWD sampling. Antlers or skull caps may be retained after sampling by Fish and Game staff, but the remainder of the head will remain for proper disposal. For details and full rules, go the CWD webpage.
• Heads should remain in the field if lymph nodes are removed for delivery to Fish and Game for CWD testing.
• Caped animals (with the skull) may be taken to a taxidermist or meat processor, but may not leave a CWD Management Zone and must still be presented to Fish and Game staff for sampling.
• Heads or lymph nodes must be submitted for testing within 10 days of harvest.
• If hunters, or those who salvage an animal, retain the quarters, they should double-bag all bones and nonedible portions of the animal and dispose of them in a landfill when finished processing the meat.
• Mandatory testing in Units 23, 24, 32A, and 63A, but no carcass transport restrictions
• CWD testing is mandatory in Units 23, 24, 32A, and 63A for all deer, but does not apply to elk and moose taken those units. These units are not within the CWD Management Zone, so carcass transportation restrictions do not apply. Fish and Game also welcomes any voluntary testing of elk and moose.

Voluntary CWD testing (free for hunters)

Fish and Game encourages deer, elk and moose hunters statewide to have their animals tested at no cost to the hunter. Hunters can check the status of their animal online, and Fish and Game will notify any hunter of a positive result.