The National Elk Refuge, located in Jackson, Wyoming, is taking a stronger stance against Chronic Wasting Disease.
According to an Associated Press report, it now requires hunters to turn over the heads of any elk taken so they may be tested for the disease. Before, the monitoring program was voluntary.
CWD is a fatal neurological (brain and nervous system) disease found in cervids – deer, elk and moose. The disease attacks the brains of infected animals and produces small lesions that result in death. There is no cure; once an animal is infected, it will die.
For more information about CWD, go to the chronic wasting disease alliance website.
(Photo source: National Elk Refuge)