BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) - The Latest on special deer hunts to gauge the prevalence of a newly-found wildlife disease in Montana that can be fatal to deer, elk and moose (all times local):
1:30 p.m.
Montana will conduct a second special deer hunt - this one along the Canadian border - as wildlife officials scramble to gauge the prevalence of a newly-found disease that’s fatal to deer, elk and moose.
State wildlife commissioners approved the hunt Thursday. Officials said they expect to issue about 335 licenses for hunters to harvest 135 mule deer in the Chester area.
Killed animals will be tested for chronic wasting disease.
The neurological disease first showed up in southcentral Montana this fall and near Chester on Dec. 4
In neighboring Wyoming, it’s caused a 21 percent annual decline in mule deer populations. Researchers say it could drive the species to localized extinction.
Another special hunt is already under way in Carbon Count just north of the Wyoming border, where officials set a quota of 200 white-tailed deer and 200 mule deer.
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10:30 a.m.
Montana wildlife officials are proposing a special deer hunt in a second area of the state as they scramble to control a newly-found disease that’s fatal to deer, elk and moose.
Chronic wasting disease is a neurological animal disease that showed up in Montana this fall.
In neighboring Wyoming, it’s causing a 21 percent annual decline in mule deer populations that researchers say could cause the animals to become locally extinct.
One special hunt is already under way in Carbon County, Montana. Officials set a quota to harvest 200 white-tailed deer and 200 mule deer. They plan to test the animals to gauge the disease’s prevalence.
Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks is proposing selling an additional 335 deer hunting licenses to harvest 135 mule deer north of Chester on the Canadian border.
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