Colorado Parks and Wildlife will be conducting mandatory chronic wasting disease testing during the 2020 hunting season in specific Game Management Units as part of efforts to control the spread of CWD with its Colorado Chronic Wasting Disease Response Plan.Beginning in late September, CPW will be sending out letters to Colorado rifle season deer (buck and doe) hunters who have been selected for mandatory CWD testing. Eighty-nine GMUs, the majority on the Western Slope, are included in the 2020 mandatory sample. Mandatory and voluntary sampling is critical for data collection on this disease that impacts the long-term health of our herds. As in the past, CPW will reimburse costs incurred from processing CWD-positive animals. The standard rate will be up to $100 for animals non-commercially processed and up to $200 for deer and elk that are commercially processed. The maximum reimbursement for commercial processing moose is $250. In order to be reimbursed for processing costs, you must have the following: 1. Hunting license showing CID number; 2. CWD head tag; 3. Proof of payment, including credit card slip, a copy of both the front and back of canceled check; receipt showing cash payment or an itemized invoice, if processor can provide one.Updated information on CWD and the 2020 mandatory sample will be posted on CPW’s website at cpw.state.co.us/cwd. (Photo courtesy of Colorado Parks and Wildlife.)
