Deer head samples sought from North Dakota hunters

Bismarck, N.D. (AP) – The North Dakota Game and Fish Department
once again will be collecting deer head samples for its chronic
wasting disease surveillance program.

Officials this year are collecting samples from western and
northeastern North Dakota. The samples also will be tested for
bovine tuberculosis, which can spread from deer to cattle.

State wildlife officials tested samples from eastern North
Dakota in 2007 and the central part of the state last year. A new
cycle is to begin next year in the east.

CWD affects the nervous system of members of the deer family and
is always fatal. The disease has not been found in wild or farmed
deer or elk in North Dakota, but it has been found in several other
states and Canadian provinces.