Idaho to require mandatory CWD sampling for harvests in Units 14 and 15

This fall, the Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG) will continue monitoring chronic wasting disease (CWD) and is requesting your help. If you are hunting mule deer, whitetail deer, elk or moose in Idaho in Units 14 and 15, there are mandatory reporting and special rules with regard to your harvest. 

As GOHUNT previously reported, a cow elk and a whitetail deer doe in Unit 14 marked the fifth and sixth cases of the fatal neurological disease in the state. The other four confirmed cases include two mule deer bucks in November 2021 and two whitetail deer bucks.

For the 2022 season, in the following units, hunters “are strongly encouraged to submit samples” of any moose, deer or elk harvest for CWD testing: 16, 16A, 17, 18, 19, 20, 23, 28, 36B, 54, 55, 56, 57, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 77, 78.

There will be specific drop off locations for CWD sample collection or you can request a sampling kit online, which will require you to collect a lymph node sample. Click here to watch a YouTube tutorial on how to extract the lymph node from your animal. Hunter check stations and IDFG regional offices will also be collecting samples during the 2022 season.