New on CWDBC This Fall, Thanks to the HCTF Action Grant - Chronic Wasting Disease in British Columbia

Hunting season is here, and CWDBC has new tools to help you do your part against chronic wasting disease (CWD). This work is funded by an Action Grant from the Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation (HCTF), and much of HCTF’s funding comes from surcharges on hunting, angling, trapping and guide-outfitting licences. In other words, hunters helped pay for this.

Before You Head Out

Check if you’re hunting in the CWD Management Zone: CWD Management Zone Maps
Find your nearest CWD freezer: CWD Freezer Map
Know the rules: CWD Hunting Regulations

New: CWD Freezer Map

Our new interactive map shows CWD sample freezers, the CWD Management Zone and Wildlife Management Unit boundaries in one place. Freezer locations can change during the season, so check the map before every trip.

How to Drop Off a Head

Remove the antlers and leave about 3″ (8 cm) of neck attached.
Fill out a CWD ear card and attach it to the head.
Bag the head. Fresh or frozen is fine.
Drop it in a designated CWD freezer.

Hunting in Region 4’s Mandatory Zone?

If you harvest a deer, elk or moose in MUs 4-1 to 4-8 or 4-20 to 4-25:
Drop the head at a designated CWD freezer inside the zone within one week of harvest, before you leave the area.
It is illegal to transport brain tissue or spinal column (except the tail) of any deer, elk or moose out of the CWD Management Zone. Moving them within the zone to submit samples is allowed.
If you need to leave the zone to reach a freezer, contact the Wildlife Health Program at 250-751-3219 or CWD@gov.bc.ca.

Watch for our new CWD signs going up on Forest Service Roads in the Creston to Trail corridor. Leave it in the zone – don’t give prions a ride home.

Hunting in the Okanagan (Region 8)?

esting is voluntary in Region 8, and every sample counts. The more heads we test, the sooner CWD can be caught if it shows up. Got your buck? Drop it off. Find a freezer on the map.

New Articles from Jessica Russell

Disease Response Specialist Jessica Russell has written three new articles for CWDBC:

More are on the way.

Thank you, HCTF

The HCTF Action Grant funds the Region 4 signs, these articles, CWDBC rack cards and stickers, and the ads you’ll see this fall. Thank you to HCTF, and to every hunter who buys a licence and submits a sample.

Run a sporting goods store, meat shop, taxidermy or rod and gun club? We have free CWDBC rack cards and stickers for your counter. Contact us and we’ll send some your way.

Hunters for BC recognizes the Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation for making a significant financial contribution to support the Strengthening Hunter Participation in CWD Surveillance and Compliance project. Partnerships are key to conserving BC’s wildlife, fish, and their habitats.