Follow through with the hunt, properly dispose of carcasses

SEELEY LAKE - A frequent complaint to Fish, Wildlife and Parks this time of year centers on carcasses dumped after someone has removed the meat. Not only does the carcass look unappealing and stink, dumping carcasses has been known to spread chronic wasting disease (CWD) and attract predators including bears and mountain lions. Further, it is illegal to dump animal remains on state and federal land.

Region 2 Wildlife Program Manager Mike Thompson wrote in an email that moving carcasses from place to place moves the diseases and parasites that remain with the carcass. This creates a new vector to spread disease.

CWD was first found in the wild in Montana in October 2017. To date, CWD has been detected in Lincoln, Carbon, Liberty, Hill, Blaine, Phillips, Valley, Daniels, and Sheridan counties. Currently there are four CWD Management Zones in the state where CWD is known to exist: Northern Montana, Southern Montana, Libby and Yellowstone County.

CWD is caused by microscopic, misfolded prion protein and infects members of the deer family including deer, elk, moose and caribou. This results in organ damage and eventual death.

The disease is spread by transferring prions from an infected animal or infected environment to another animal. According to FWP, the carcass can transmit the disease for at least two years.

Per the Montana Hunting Regulations, the whole carcass, whole head, brain or spinal column are prohibited from being transported from a CWD Management Zone and from out of state. It is assumed that the gut pile is left at the kill site.

Thompson wrote that CWD can also be spread in the feces. Since CWD can be picked up in the environment by the transmission of CWD prions shed from an infected animal, the hide should not be considered safe either.

"The probability of such contact in the wild is relatively low and isolated, causing the disease to spread slowly," wrote Thompson. "However, by transporting reservoirs of CWD prions from one infected carcass to another area, humans are spreading CWD faster and to new areas that would not otherwise be exposed."

While it is speculation at this point, Thompson wrote that bringing whole animals from an area that has CWD is one possibility of how it spread to Libby.

Edible portions suitable for food are defined as all four quarters and the loins. Once an animal is taken home from the field and edible portions removed, all hides, rib cages, legs and other parts need to be double bagged and disposed of at an approved landfill in the area. The Seeley Lake Transfer Site is approved to accept animal waste.

While it is legal to leave scraps in the field at a kill site, once the animal is transported from the field, a person cannot dump the animal scraps.

According to the FWP website, dumping all or part of a carcass on public land is littering and there are criminal penalties for littering. A person convicted of littering while hunting or fishing faces a mandatory one-year loss of privileges.

Federal Law Enforcement Officer Tyler Robinson said dumping a carcass, defined by the US Forest Service as the dead body, or any parts thereof, of any harvested mammal, bird or fish, on Forest Service land violates two federal statues. This fall carcasses have been dumped behind Seeley-Swan High School, at the top of High School hill, off Cottonwood Lakes road and on Boy Scout Road.

The first statute falls under sanitation and prohibits the dumping of any refuse, debris, trash or litter brought from private property or from land occupied under permit. Robinson explained that once an animal is harvested and brought home to butcher, to return any part of it to Federal land violates this sanitation statute. Violators can face up to a $180 fine.

The second statute is the Food/Wildlife Attractant Storage Special Order issued by the Lolo National Forest. The order states that any animal carcass that is within a half mile of any camping or sleeping area shall be stored in a bear-resistant manner from April 1 – Dec. 1. While camping on Forest Service land, harvested animals must be hung 10 feet up and four feet away from the tree so a bear can't reach them. Dumping the carcass violates the food storage order by attracting bears to an area.

Robinson said this week a grizzly bear was caught on a trail cam on Pyramid Loop road, so the bears are still out. Violators can face up to a $230 fine.

Robinson added another citation he issues fairly frequently during hunting season is discharging a firearm within 150 yards of a residence, building, campsite, developed recreation site or occupied area, across or on a National Forest road or body of water adjacent or in any manner or place whereby any person or property is exposed to injury or damage as a result in such a discharge. Robinson said most recently he has issued citations for shooting behind the Wolf Ridge Apartments and on the high school football field.

"This is a safety thing to encourage people to think and act safely with firearms," said Robinson. "We don't want to see any people, any vehicles, any homes or any livestock get shot."

For more information on CWD, visit the FWP website at fwp.mt.gov/cwd.