Common Sense Precautions In Handling Wild Meat

Mule Deer Buck

Before going afield to hunt, it is always wise to review the proper ways to handle and transport wild meat.

While CWD is not known to be transmissible to humans or to cause disease in humans, recent media stories have increased questions about hunting in and handling wild meat from "CWD states" where Chronic Wasting Disease has been found among wild deer or elk.

Montana is not a"CWD" state because CWD has not yet been identified in the wild. However, being informed and practicing safe methods of handling meat in the field are precautions that will help to protect you and Montana’s wild herds.

FWP established the first wild deer and elk surveys for CWD in 1996 in Montana and to date over 7,000 animals have been tested and all were found negative. About 3,500 captive deer and elk from Montana’s alternative livestock facilities have also been tested. All tested negative except nine elk in one facility, and they were destroyed in 1999.

Until more is known, hunters should take these common sense precautions:

• avoid shooting animals that look sick and report all such animals to FWP;
• wear rubber gloves when field dressing game and practice good hygiene;
• minimize contact with brain and spinal cord tissue;
• avoid handling or consuming brains, spinal cord, tonsils, pancreas and spleen or other lymphatic tissues;
• if you hunt in a state where CWD is reported in wild deer and elk and process your meat in that state, request that your meat be processed individually, apart from other animals;
• if you hunt in a state other than Montana, inquire as to the CWD status of that state and review special CWD regulations or guidelines that apply in that state.

This fall, FWP will collect more deer and elk tissue samples from animals harvested by hunters. The agency has now developed a statewide management plan to respond to CWD, if and when the disease is detected in Montana's wildlife populations.

For more information on CWD, check the FWP web site, CWD Management Plan Environmental Assessment and the CWD Questions & Answers web page.