SHERIDAN (WNE) —Animal diseases have been identified in two species in the Sheridan region — chronic wasting disease in elk and rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus 2 in cottontail rabbits.

CWD was identified in three new Sheridan Region elk hunt areas this fall. In October, the disease was documented in Elk Hunt Areas 36 and 129 and in November, a hunter-harvested cow elk in Elk Hunt Area 113 tested positive for the disease. All of the elk areas overlap hunt areas where the disease has previously been documented in deer.

Wyoming Game and Fish Department officials continue to monitor the prevalence of CWD through targeted surveillance of identified deer and elk herd units across the state.

Surveillance efforts to obtain CWD prevalence estimates were completed between 2018 and 2020 for Elk Hunt Areas 35 to 40 and for the Powder River mule deer herd in Hunt Areas 17, 18, 23 and 26 in 2019.

Five cottontail rabbits in Sheridan County and one in Johnson County have tested positive for rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus 2. The disease was first identified in Wyoming in December 2020 and has the potential to impact wild populations of rabbits and hares.

WGFD officials are asking for the public’s assistance in reporting rabbit carcasses, particularly jackrabbits, snowshoe hares or carcasses of multiple animals.

The disease does not pose a risk to human health. However, because rabbits can carry other diseases that could impact human health, if you find a rabbit or hare carcass on your property or while recreating, please do not touch or collect it. Instead, provide a GPS point or other location description to the Sheridan Regional Office, a local game warden or wildlife biologist.