2022 Brucellosis Surveillance

Today’s hunter is much more than a resource that helps manage wildlife populations through license fees and harvest of animals. They’ve also become an invaluable part of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department’s work to collect biological samples for study and testing. Elk hunters in select hunt areas of Wyoming are again asked this fall to collect blood samples from their harvested animal to help in the department’s brucellosis surveillance efforts. Brucellosis is a disease caused by the bacteria Brucella abortus. Elk, bison and domestic cattle are susceptible to brucellosis, which may cause animals to abort calves and further transmit the disease.
This year’s targeted areas are primarily in the northern and north-central part of the state with a few areas also in southwest Wyoming. Specific targeted elk hunt areas can be found on the G&F Website. About 8,500 kits will be mailed to hunters this year. Hunters in targeted elk hunt areas should receive kits about two weeks prior to the opening date of that particular hunt area and license type. Take it with you while hunting and collect a sample from your harvested animal and submit it to G&F. Take the sample soon after harvest and keep it cool until drop-off. As an incentive, the department is partnering with several leading outdoor gear companies in a raffle for hunters who can provide a usable sample from their elk. Hunters with multiple licenses may receive a kit for each and can enter the raffle for each usable sample returned. Nearly one-quarter of the state is surveyed yearly on a rotating basis. Each fall hunters return between 1,200-1,500 blood samples to the laboratory.
Hunters should wear latex gloves, keep the sample cool in a chilled cooler and not allow it to freeze or spoil. Fill out the requested information on the enclosed card and return the kit to a biologist or game warden in the field, at a check station, Game and Fish office or drop the prepaid box with the sample in the mail. An instructional video on taking a sample can be found on the G&F website. Hunters who don’t harvest an elk this year should keep the kit for use next year. Brucellosis has been shown to slightly reduce pregnancy rates but not limit population size of elk. Usable sample data collected by hunters along with GPS data from radio-collared elk are being used to develop projects to mitigate brucellosis transmission risk among elk and from elk to livestock.

[@WildlifeTrailcamUK]

Great video, you’ve caught lots of good footage of the animals. It’s very informative but a shame how it has spread.

[@wilsonwalton5609]

ᎮᏒᎧᎷᎧᏕᎷ 😳