This year brought unsettling news for Montana hunters and lovers of wild game meat: For the first time, a wild elk and a wild moose were found infected with chronic wasting disease.
The disease is a contagious neurological condition that infects deer, elk and moose.
State Representative Steve Gunderson of Libby, a member of Montana's Environmental Quality Council, says not getting a handle on the disease could be devastating to Libby’s economy.
There is no known transmission of the wasting disease to humans or other animals. But federal officials recommend that hunters harvesting deer, elk or moose do not consume the meat if the animal tests positive.
