Elk NetworkHelp with New Mexico CWD Testing & You May Win an Elk Tag

General | October 18, 2022

Below is a Facebook post from the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish (NMDGF).

Win an elk or oryx incentive authorization by helping test for chronic wasting disease!

To participate, bring your freshly harvested deer or elk head to any NMDGF office or field collection station, where tissues can be collected for CWD testing. In Game Management Units 19, 28, and 34, hunters must present the head for testing within the unit where the animal was harvested. Hunters must deliver the unfrozen head within 48 hours to be eligible. Participating hunters may be selected by drawing to receive an elk or oryx incentive license.

CWD is spread between animals through body fluids like feces, saliva, blood, or urine by direct contact or indirectly through environmental contamination of soil, food, or water. CWD-positive animals may have drastic weight loss, stumbling, lack of coordination, listlessness, drooling, excessive thirst or urination, drooping ears, or lack of fear of people. Though CWD has not been transmitted to humans, the Centers for Disease Control does not recommend the consumption of CWD-positive animals.

Go here to see a list of check station locations and hunt dates.

(Photo credit: New Mexico Department of Game and Fish)