Chronic wasting disease detected on Spokane Reservation

A white-tailed deer on the Spokane Indian Reservation has tested positive for chronic wasting disease.

The Spokane Tribal Natural Resources Department said in a news release that the deer was killed by a hunter in late October in the Drum Road area.

A sample from the deer was tested at the Montana Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory. Officials are waiting on results from a second test to confirm the first result.

“This detection is a significant concern for the wildlife program and the tribe, as deer, elk and moose are not only vital to our ecosystem but are also central to our culture and subsistence hunting,” tribal officials wrote in the release, which was posted to Facebook by the Rawhide Press.

When reached by email, Derek Abrahamson, who works in the tribe’s natural resources office, declined to comment further until results from the second test came in.

The finding marks the fifth time an animal killed in Washington has tested positive for the always-fatal neurological disease that affects elk, deer and moose.

It was first detected in the state last year in a deer found dead in the Fairwood area of north Spokane. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife ordered mandatory testing in the immediate area and encouraged more voluntary testing throughout the hunting season, which led to three other detections – two in the immediate area of the first positive, and one in Pend Oreille County.

The disease attacks an animal’s nervous system and kills them. There is no known risk to humans, but health officials advise against eating meat from infected animals.

Biologists fear that the disease, if left unchecked, could decimate wildlife populations. The best defense managers have is trying to keep it contained and tracking its spread.

The Spokane Tribe’s wildlife program has been monitoring for the disease since 2022 alongside WDFW and other tribes. A total of 877 animals have been tested since then, according to the tribe’s release. So far this year, the tribe has received results for 147 deer and 21 elk.

WDFW has gathered hundreds of samples from hunters this fall, starting with the archery hunting seasons that began in September. Samples the agency gathers are tested in Pullman at the Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory. WDFW has not reported any additional positive tests.

Hunters are able to drop heads off at kiosks, mail in lymph nodes themselves or visit check stations to get samples submitted. WDFW maintains a map of its sampling sites online at wdfw.wa.gov/cwd.

One of those sites no longer exists. Due to a change in property ownership, WDFW’s Asotin County check station and self-serve kiosk is now closed, according to WDFW spokesperson Staci Lehman.

Hunters who need to submit samples in that area can call 509-758-5315 to schedule an appointment to get their animals tested.