Northwest Iowa — The first shotgun deer season got underway Saturday in Iowa, along with another round of testing for Chronic Wasting Disease.
The Iowa DNR’s Tyler Harms says they ask hunters to provide samples for testing as they try to keep track of the disease in the wild deer population. The first positive test was report in 2013 and most have been in northeast Iowa.
The DNR increased the number of samples it takes from the areas where positive results have been seen in the past in order to get a better idea on if CWD is spreading. Harms says the DNR has a way for hunters to find out if their deer tested positive.
Harms says the system is easy to use.
Harms says the hunters have been very cooperative in providing the samples to help track the disease. CWD can be spread easily among deer and causes them to get sick, and always results in death. The first shotgun deer season runs through December 5th. The second shotgun season will start December 8th and run through the 16th and the late muzzleloader season will be December 17th to January 10th
