DFG News Archive

Free Testing for Chronic Wasting Disease this Weekend for California Deer and Elk Hunters

California hunters are being asked to assist wildlife managers with efforts to test the state’s deer and elk herds for the presence of Chronic Wasting Disease, a fatal neurological disease that has already been found in 12 states and two Canadian provinces. The disease has not been found in California.

The California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) will be collecting tissue samples from deer and elk harvested by hunters throughout northern California. Hunters are being asked to visit one of the specially staffed checked stations between Sept. 18 and 20 to validate their tags and have their animals tested free of charge.

The effort is part of a nationwide surveillance program partially funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to document the presence and extent of Chronic Wasting Disease in the nation’s deer and elk herds. California is considered a low risk state for Chronic Wasting Disease due to its long-term ban on the importation of live elk, its prohibition on elk farming, and its strict monitoring of live deer importations.

“Our goal is to sample 900 animals,” said DFG wildlife veterinarian Dr. Pam Swift. “It’s a labor-intensive undertaking, but we want to do our part to assist in the federal monitoring program.” Swift is training teams of DFG employees on the proper procedure for obtaining useable samples. “The disease agent that causes Chronic Wasting Disease is found in brain and lymphoid tissues, so the sampling procedure is very precise. It’s not as simple as drawing blood.”

Teams will be set up to gather tissue samples on the spot, or hunters can leave part of the carcass if they prefer not to wait. Results will be available online (www.dfg.ca.gov) about two weeks after the testing is conducted. Hunters will be given an identification code so that they can log on to the DFG Web site and access the test results for their animal.

Chronic Wasting Disease was first observed in captive deer and elk in the 1960s and in wild deer and elk in the early 1980s. Not regarded as a major threat to deer populations, it largely went unmonitored until it began showing up in several mid-western states in the 1990s. It is believed to have been spread among captive herds when sick animals were exported to other states and then introduced into wild herds when captive animals escaped or by nose-to-nose contact across fences. Very little is known about how the disease is transmitted from animal to animal. There is no known cure.

Hunter Check Stations Offering Free CWD Testing

• Arcata (Humboldt County): The Caltrans facility east of Arcata at the intersection of Titlow Hill Road (Forest Service Route 1) and Highway 299.
• Bella Vista (Shasta County): Just inside the town of Bella Vista west of Dry Creek Road on Highway 299 (approximately 8 miles east of Interstate 5).
• Chester (Plumas County): At the U.S. Forest Service Station in the town of Chester on Highway 36 east of I-5.
• Covelo (Mendocino County): At the U.S. Forest Service Eel River Work Station west of the town of Covelo on Forest Highway 7.
• Elk Creek (Glenn County): At the large turn-out on Highway 162 west of I-5, just outside the Town of Elk Creek.
• French Gulch (Shasta County): At the large turnout on Trinity Mountain Road (1-2 miles north from Highway 299) just south of French Gulch.
• Lomo (Butte County): At a large turnout on Highway 32 just south of Humboldt Road. Validation of deer tags will not be done at this sampling site.
• Platina (Shasta County): At the U.S. Forest Service Station in Platina on Highway 36 west of Red Bluff.
• Weaverville (Trinity County): At the U.S. Forest Service Station at the west end of Weaverville south of Highway 299 and about 50 miles west of Redding.

DFG Regional headquarters in Redding, Rancho Cordova, and Yountville will be also be collecting appropriate tissue samples. Please contact the DFG Wildlife Investigations Lab at (916) 358-2790 for further information.