From my house I can see the CSU deer pens where CWD was first discovered.
There’s a hiking trail that goes right by the pens that have deer, elk and other animals.
I shot and ate lots of deer before the CWD massacre in the early 2000s when it became a ‘scare’.
In Colorado, CWD testing areas jump around. Some years the areas are mandatory, the next year it’s voluntary. Sometimes it’s not required at all when it was required the year before.
Last year my son shot a MD buck in a required testing GMU. We took the buck to Kremmling and submitted the glands.
I took the meat home and processed it and we waited for the results….. and waited…. and waited.
I finally called the number and they told me that testing facilities wait until they had a bunch of deer to test before they start. But the CWD website says 7-10 days.
The results came back over 2 weeks later, Negative. But we were going to eat the deer anyway.
This year the same GMU doesn’t have required testing.
If you follow the money, all CWD is funded by grants. So if there’s no grants, no testing. If minimal funding, minimal testing.
Life is short. Choose wisely.