Register now for Arizona Chronic Wasting Disease workshops

PHOENIX — The Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD) encourages all deer and elk hunters to attend an upcoming workshop about Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), a fatal wildlife disease that affects the nervous system of cervid animals.

A total of five workshops will be conducted at department regional offices. All of the workshops will include a short lecture (20 to 30 minutes), followed by an outdoor demonstration (also 20 to 30 minutes) on how to collect and submit the required lymph node tissue sampling for testing. There also will be opportunities to speak with wildlife health personnel, including technicians, as well as wildlife managers.

Hunters can register by sending an email to: chronicwastingdis@azgfd.gov.

The workshops:

6 p.m. Aug. 18: 7200 E. University Drive, Mesa.
6 p.m. Aug. 19: 555 N. Greasewood Road, Tucson.
9 a.m. Aug. 20: 2878 E. White Mountain Blvd., Pinetop.
6 p.m. Aug. 25: 5000 W. Carefree Highway, Phoenix.
9 a.m. Aug. 27: 3500 S. Lake Mary Road, Flagstaff.

AZGFD has been testing for the presence of the disease in Arizona since 1998 and has tested more than 30,000 samples. While CWD has been found in the neighboring states of Utah, New Mexico and Colorado, the disease has not been detected in Arizona. CWD has not been documented to cause disease in people.