A few weeks ago, it was reported that Idaho deer had tested positive for CWD. As a result of this news, the Idaho Fish & Game quickly approved CWD Surveillance Hunts. These hunts’ sole purpose is to harvest animals that will be tested to check the prevalence of CWD within the deer herds. Each hunt will have a sample quota. This means if the sample quota is met, the hunt within that unit will be closed. Hunters will be notified 48 hours before a hunt unit closes.
These hunts are only open to Idaho residents and are only available in certain units. Below we will list each unit and a little information on each area.
Unit and Area Information
- Unit 11A: Antlered and Antlerless Whitetail only hunts ongoing. The status of 11A is still open as of 12/17/2021.
- Deer Unit 13: Private, Public, Mule deer, Whitetail, Antlered, and Antlerless hunts ongoing. Unit 13 is still open as of 12/17/2021.
- Unit 14: Antlered and Antlerless mule deer hunts are currently ongoing. However, as of 12/17/2021, Antelered Whitetail hunts are now closed, the sample quota has been met.
- Deer Unit 18: Private, Public, Mule deer, Whitetail, Antlered, and Antlerless hunts ongoing. The sample quota is still open, more samples are still needed.
- Unit 23: All hunts are still open and ongoing as of 12/17/2021.
Several of these units have different boundaries vs the general season boundaries, we strongly recommend hunters familiarize their selves with the different boundaries before hunting.
If a hunter is successful they must provide the deer head for CWD testing at a Fish and Game check station or regional office within 24 hours of harvest. Likewise, hunters must bring the entire head portion out for testing. Hunters will be able to keep the antlers of a harvested deer. However, they must be removed or the skull must be capped at the check station. The rest of the skull must remain at the check station. Hunters have also been asked to avoid shooting deer in the head or neck.
You can read more about these hunts by checking out the Idaho Fish & Game’s CWD Hunts Page. That page can be found by clicking here. Likewise, you can read more about when CWD was first found in Idaho deer by clicking our link here.
