The North Dakota Game and Fish Department will continue its hunter-harvested surveillance program during the 2026 hunting season by sampling deer for chronic wasting disease from select units in the southwestern portion of the state.
CWD is a slow-moving brain disease of deer, moose and elk that can cause population-level impacts under high infection rates.
Samples will be tested from deer taken from units 2J1, 3B3, 3C, 3D1, 3D2, 3E1, 3E2, 3F1, 3F2, 4D, 4E and 4F. Outside of this area, hunters can still have their animal tested by taking it to a Game and Fish district office, deer head collection site or by using a self-sampling kit.
Hunters are encouraged to drop off harvested deer heads at collection locations listed on the department’s website at gf.nd.gov. Fawns and head-shot deer cannot be tested. Hunters wishing to keep the heads can bring them to a Game and Fish district office during business hours to have them sampled.
Self-sampling kits, can be requested on the department’s website or at district offices for hunters who wish to have their deer tested but are unable to drop the head at a collection site. The do-it-yourself kit allows hunters to remove the lymph nodes and ship them to the department’s wildlife health lab for testing.
Results can be expected within four weeks and will be sent to your Game and Fish My Account inbox.
Hunters are also reminded that carcass disposal requirements apply statewide. The entire carcass can be transported outside of the gun unit where it was harvested, but the carcass waste (material left after processing) must be disposed of via landfill or waste management provider. This requirement does not apply to heads dropped at CWD collection sites, or lymph nodes submitted for CWD surveillance.
More information on CWD is available at the Game and Fish website. CWD Surveillance and Testing
Meanwhile, the North Dakota Game and Fish Department is asking deer hunters to help in collecting lower jaws from their harvested deer this season.
Biologists can examine tooth replacement and wear to determine the deer’s age.
This information helps determine the age structure of deer populations in each hunting unit and guides future management.
Hunters interested in having their deer aged can request an envelope with instructions on the Game and Fish website, gf.nd.gov.
