Is there a risk of harvesting a deer or elk with CWD in California?
• If you hunt deer and elk in California, there is no known cause for concern. DFG has been sampling California’s deer herds since 1999 and has found no evidence of CWD. As of September 2003, more than 1,100 brain samples have been collected and tested. All submitted specimens have tested negative for CWD. The Department plans on continuing the CWD surveillance program indefinitely and will test at least 600 deer and 50 elk annually. California is considered a “low risk” state for CWD since the ranching of cervids is not allowed (except for fallow deer), importation of elk is not allowed (banned by the state Legislature in the early 1980s), and the importation of any cervid is strictly limited.
