Officials are encouraging hunters to submit deer from select parts of Michigan to be tested for chronic wasting disease.
Each year biologists create CWD surveillance goals to understand the fatal neurological disease in the local deer herd. CWD also impacts elk and moose.
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources still need deer heads for testing from Jackson, Isabella and Gratiot counties as well as the CWD core surveillance area in the Upper Peninsula to meet 2019 goals.
Participating hunters in Clinton, Ingham, Ionia, Kent, Mecosta, Montcalm, Newaygo and Shiawassee counties have already helped officials meet surveillance goals in those areas.
The DNR will test any deer for disease at the request of a hunter, but limits the number of deer collected after surveillance goals in a specific area are met.
Hunters may have to wait about a month for CWD test results, especially during the firearm deer season, when sample volume is high.
This story was originally written by Ronnie Das on November 20th, 2019 at 09:44 PM EST for WLNS.
