Hunters in northwest Montana improved their success rate last weekend. Hunters harvested 64 buck mule deer last weekend, compared to the 26 harvested this time last year.
"The bucks are just out running around a lot more than before," says Dillon Tabish, a spokesperson for Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks.
The agency is asking hunters to follow new regulations this year to combat chronic wasting disease. First detected in pockets around Montana in 2017 the disease has not reached northwest Montana, and these regulations aim to stop it from spreading.
"This is a fatal disease that can cause widespread declines in deer and elk herds," Tabish says.
The disease is carried through animal brain and spinal fluid. Hunters should take carcasses to a landfill for proper disposal as the disease can be absorbed into soil and grass.
Learn more about chronic wasting disease from Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.