CSW in Wyoming: How can you help?

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Post by Brayden Polley

The image is from a check station in Sheridan Wyoming and is an example a biologist taking a lymph node to be tested for CWD. The biologist has the deer head on the tailgate while he removes the lymph node from the neck of the carcass. They then send the lymph node to a lab for tests.
A biologist takes a lymph node as a sample to be tested for CWD (Credit: B. Polley)

My name is Brayden Polley, I’m from Cody Wyoming and chose this topic for my blog post for a few reasons.  I am an avid outdoorsman who cares about the mule deer populations, thus why I think that testing for CWD is important.  Every year that I harvest an animal, I either stop at a check station or take it to the game and fish building to get it checked for CWD.  Another thing I try to do is talk about CWD more often with my friends and other hunters.  The more I spread the word the more people hopefully get their animals tested.

Chronic Wasting disease is a disease prominently found in deer across North America.  It is a prion disease that is similar to that in fish called Whirling disease in fish, and Mad Cow disease.  It is a lethal disease that has caused a decline in deer populations across the nation as well as here in Wyoming.  As of now it is unknown whether CWD can spread to humans or not, but either way that’s one reason the more research we can do the better.  Below I will discuss ways that hunters like us can help with the research of CWD.

One of the biggest things that we as the hunting community in Wyoming can do to is to participate in checking in our animals to be tested for CWD.  It is a simple process for us that Wyoming’s Game and Fish department has tried to make as easy as possible for hunters to participate in.  All you have to do is stop at check stations set up by the Game and Fish so that they can remove a lymph node.  Another way we can help as hunters is to discuss CWD among ourselves and with our friends.  The more we spread the word, the more we are able to help with research and getting fellow hunters to understand the risks there may be with CWD.

Brayden Polley is an undergraduate student in the Department of Zoology and Physiology at the University of Wyoming.

references:

“Hunter Check Stations.” Wyoming Game and Fish Department, https://wgfd.wyo.gov/Regional-Offices/Sheridan-Region/Sheridan-Region-News/Hunter-Check-Stations.

Gee, Brian. “CWD Spread Threatens Wyoming’s Health, Wildlife, Culture.” WyoFile, 10 Jan. 2020, https://wyofile.com/cwd-spread-threatens-wyomings-health-wildlife-culture/?gclid=Cj0KCQiAmpyRBhC-ARIsABs2EAoPvasrG5C1NjfBZA4Za25GmYiUgMCDV4lfTgLQz4ExjyBVbWJ-gHwaArNaEALw_wcB

DeVivo, Melia T., et al. “Endemic Chronic Wasting Disease Causes Mule Deer Population Decline in Wyoming.” PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0186512.

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