November 29, 2005

DES MOINES - The Iowa Department of Natural Resources plans to collect 4,500 samples from wild Iowa deer to look for the presence of Chronic Wasting Disease. This is the fourth year for the program, and so far more than 13,000 deer samples have been tested with no positive samples.

The DNR plans to collect 3,500 of the deer in northeast Iowa that borders Wisconsin and Illinois, and the remainder from the rest of the state. There will be a few check stations in the high priority area, but most samples will be collected from meat lockers.

Hunters willing to donate a sample should call their area wildlife management biologist. Contact information is listed in the 2005/06 Iowa Hunting and Trapping Regulations.