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JACKSON, Wyo. (AP) – An elk refuge in Wyoming will now require hunters to participate in a program to monitor the spread of a deadly disease of wildlife.
Officials from the National Elk Refuge announced Friday that from Sunday hunters must return the head of elk that they killed for disease screening. Until now, participation in the surveillance program was voluntary.
The Wyoming Wyoming Game and Fish Department recently detected a chronic debilitating disease in a vehicle-killed mule deer in nearby Grand Teton National Park.
The detection raises fears that the disease is spreading rapidly to several feeding sites in western Wyoming, where food pellets are being distributed to elk to help them survive in the winter.
Humans are not known to catch chronic wasting disease, but authorities are encouraging hunters to test game meat from affected areas as a precaution.
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