CWD continues to spread

SUNDANCE (WNE) — Chronic wasting disease continues to spread in Wyoming, having been identified in more hunt areas and herds in 2025 and an overall increase in positive tests from Wyoming Game & Fish’s surveillance testing.

CWD is now known to be present on all of Crook County’s elk and deer hunt areas.

The west and southwest is almost the only part of Wyoming still CWD-free for mule deer. CWD in elk is more prevalent in eastern and northwestern hunt areas, while the disease has only been identified in moose in one hunt area on the western border.

Wyoming Game and Fish Department says that its Wildlife Health Laboratory tested 5370 samples from elk, deer and moose in 2025, and CWD was detected in 842 of those samples.

In terms of prevalence, the report states that CWD prevalence averaged 21.6% in hunter-harvested mule deer bucks, an increase from 19.4% in 2024, while the percentage in hunter- harvested white-tailed buck deer was 32.1%, a slight increase from 29.2% in 2024.

The percentage of adult, hunter-harvested elk was 2.4%, compared to 2.3% last year. There was no CWD detected in samples from moose last year.

CWD is an always-fatal disease that affects deer, elk and moose and is caused by abnormally folded proteins called “prions.” Deer and elk may display no symptoms at first, but the advanced stages of CWD can lead to droopy ears, a lack of energy, a lack of gloss to the coat and lethargy, as well as emaciation in extreme cases.

This story was published on April 9, 2026.