Chronic wasting disease was recently detected for the first time near Livingston.
Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks says the always fatal contagious neurological disease that infects deer, elk and moose was found in a white-tailed deer in hunting district 317 southeast of Livingston and north of Yellowstone Park.
The area is within a priority surveillance area where state wildlife officials are trying to learn more about the disease's possible spread.
FWP is allowing a hunt for white-tailed deer in parts of southwest Montana in an effort to reduce population density and control the spread of CWD. The hunt is valid in several districts and runs through Feb. 15:
- HD 320 – Those portions within the Jefferson River watershed. Portions within the Madison River watershed are excluded.
- HD 322
- HD 324
- HD 325 – Those portions within the Blacktail Deer Creek watershed. Portions within the Beaverhead River watershed south of Barretts are excluded.
- HD 326
- HD 329
- HD 330 – Those portions within the Ruby River watershed. Portions within the Madison River watershed are excluded.
- HD 331
- HD 340
The state wildlife agency says CWD is not known to infect humans. However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that people not eat meat from infected animals and have harvested animals tested before eating them if they were taken from an area where CWD is known to exist.
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