Mule Deer Buck Quota Reached in Moffat Bridge CWD Hunt Area on Marias River
By angelamontana

Posted: October 28, 2019

By order of the Montana Fish & Wildlife Commission, Moffat Bridge Special Chronic Wasting Disease Hunt mule deer either-sex B licenses will be valid for antlerless mule deer only beginning Oct. 29, 2019.

The either-sex mule deer B licenses are good only for antlerless mule deer now because a quota of 25 mule deer buck samples was collected within the CWD hunt area north of Great Falls.

Mule deer bucks can still be hunted on a general deer license within the Moffat Bridge Special CWD Hunt Area. The general deer hunting season in HD 400 ends Nov. 17.

Holders of the Moffat Bridge Special CWD Hunt mule deer either-sex B licenses and mule deer antlerless B licenses for the special hunt area may continue to hunt on those licenses until Dec. 1 or until the quota of 120 antlerless mule deer is reached, whichever comes first.

For the hunt, FWP sold 50 mule deer either-sex B licenses and 300 mule deer antlerless B licenses that can only be used in the special hunt area, which is in Hunting District 400. In addition, all other deer licenses valid in HD 400 are valid within the Moffat Bridge special hunt area.

Samples are mandatory from all deer harvested within the CWD hunt area using any license type. The samples must be checked within 3 days of harvest.

Samples are voluntary from deer taken outside the CWD hunt area but within HDs 400 and 401.

Animals must be checked at the Moffat Bridge CWD check station located 18 miles south of Chester on the Moffat Road. Hunters who quarter or bone out their deer in the field must bring the head for sampling.

During general big game season (Oct. 26 to Dec. 1), the Moffat Bridge CWD hunt check station will be open every day 10 a.m. to one hour after sunset. Hunters are only required to stop at the sampling station if they harvested an animal.

Hunters will be required to document the exact location of the kill. Animals will be tagged with a unique identification number. Hunters can use that identification number to look up test results on the FWP website at fwp.mt.gov/CWD.

Test results are usually available within 10-14 days. Hunters who harvest an animal that tests positive for CWD may receive a replacement 2019 license.

CWD is a progressive, fatal disease affecting the nervous system of mule deer, white-tailed deer, elk and moose. There is no known transmission of CWD to humans or other animals, including pets or livestock. The federal Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends that hunters harvesting a deer, elk, or moose from an area where CWD is known to be present have their animal tested for CWD before consuming the meat, and to not consume the meat if the animal tests positive.

For more information, visit fwp.mt.gov/cwd.

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