BILLINGS — A fatal disease has been found in a deer in north central Montana, marking the second region to have an occurrence of chronic wasting disease since it first emerged in the state this fall.
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks said Tuesday that a mule deer tested positive for the disease after being shot Nov. 12, north of Chester near the Canadian border.
Chronic wasting disease already was present in surrounding states and provinces. It sickens deer, elk and moose, causing organ damage and death.
Four deer tested positive for infection this fall in south-central Montana — more than 200 miles from the latest case. State wildlife officials are planning to hold a special hunt in that area, which is around the town of Bridger, to gauge the disease’s prevalence.