IDFG Takes Action on Disease

By Gregg Losinski, Upper Snake Conservation Educator Almost every time you open the newspaper or turn on the radio or television it seems like you see or hear something about the spread of diseases in wildlife such as brucellosis, chronic wasting disease (CWD), and tuberculosis. Colorado is struggling to contain a growing problem in its elk herds and Wisconsin is currently killing 15,000 white-tailed deer as a gambit to check the spread east of the Mississippi River. On Monday, May 20, IDFG personnel used lethal methods to remove two moose and five mule deer that had accidentally been trapped in a private game farm enclosure and thereby exposed to domestic elk, and the possibility of transmissible diseases. According to Regional Wildlife Manager Brad Compton, "During our aerial survey flights last winter we observed a moose in the private enclosure, so we knew we had a situation that required attention." The enclosure was part of a recently developed private captive elk breeding and private hunting preserve along Canyon Creek, off of State Highway 33 between Rexburg and Driggs, Idaho. The operation is located in big game hunting Unit 64.Domestic elk had been kept in the enclosure, along with the wild big game discovered by IDFG. Exposure to some diseases can be detected visually or through blood samples, but for others it is not so easy. "Because the only method for testing for CWD is the physical removal of brain stem material, live trapping and holding for testing was not a option," Compton said. Two wild female moose were taken; along with five mule deer, all but one of which was female. Brain stem tissue samples were removed from all the animals and will be sent to the Wildlife Health Lab in Caldwell, Idaho for testing. Because the animals appeared healthy, and there are no known human health concerns regarding diseases and the meat, as long as it is properly cooked. The meat will be distributed to needy individuals in local communities. Idaho Code prohibits the distribution of such salvaged meat without the receiver understanding the source of the meat. Institutions such as jails and nursing homes may also receive salvaged meat, but those recipients must also acknowledge what they are receiving.