Ahead of hunting season, wild game processors adapt to CWD's spread

This year’s deer hunting season will look a little different for North Idaho wild game processors after cases of chronic wasting disease were confirmed in the Bonners Ferry deer population.  

CWD is a neurological disease found in deer, elk and moose that causes degeneration of the animal’s brain, resulting in emaciation, abnormal behavior, loss of bodily function and eventually death.  

Woods Meat Processing in Sandpoint still plans to process wild game — however, the shop will not accept any carcasses from CWD zones, which are designated by Idaho Fish and Game. Additionally, a negative CWD test is required for harvested, boneless meat.  

“If anybody tells you they’re not doing anything different, that’s not a good thing,” said Jody Russell, co-owner of Woods Meat Processing.  

Mike Edgehouse, who operates a mobile meat processing business called Primal Edge Pursuits, believes working exclusively with wild game — and one animal at a time — is what will allow him to avoid potential for contamination.  

“I think those who do both domestic and wild game are in a much tougher position,” Edgehouse said.  

Such was the case for Mountain View Custom Meats, a Coeur d’Alene shop that stopped processing wild game meat two years ago when the first case of CWD was confirmed in Idaho.  

Since the shop is located on private property, owner Kevin Trosclair explained, they did not want to risk CWD prions getting into the property’s groundwater and infecting nearby wildlife and livestock.  

“We decided from a safety standpoint that we don’t want to have that in our shop,” Trosclair said.  

Idaho Fish and Game has designated Units 14, 18 and a portion of unit 1, the portion of Boundary County east of the Selkirk Mountains crest, as CWD Management Zones as of Oct. 1. Fish and Game prohibits the transport of whole deer, elk or moose carcasses out of these zones.  

Mandatory sampling is required for all mule deer and white-tailed deer harvested in units 14, 18, 23, 24, 32A and the same portion of unit 1, according to IFG 2024 CWD Hunting Rules.  

Any-weapon hunting for white-tailed deer opens Oct. 10.