The state Game and Fish Department will be allowing hunters with whitetail or any deer gun licenses in five units in western North Dakota to turn in those licenses for refunds.
That’s due do what is being described as a mild outbreak of EHD — epizootic hemorrhagic disease.
"We're having a mild outbreak in the southwestern part of the state," said Game and Fish biologist Mason Ryckman. "We're getting reports for about a month now."
Ryckman said Game and Fish is now offering refunds to hunters in deer-gun hunting units 3E1, 3F1, 3F2, 4E and 4F. He said this is not like the major outbreak of EHD the state saw in 2020 and 2021.
"We had a severe outbreak," Ryckman said. "We saw a lot of dead whitetail deer, and had a lot of reports of dead deer in the western half of North Dakota.."
Ryckman said the requests for refunds have to be completed before the deer gun season begins, November seventh.
"We also recommend that hunters make some contacts to locals in the affected area, the land that they hunt on, the landowners, just to get an idea if they are seeing deer, or deer mortality, to get a gauge of what the area is seeing in terms of the numbers."
Ryckman said the disease is not a danger to humans, but he says a hunter should not shoot or consumer a deer that appears to be sick.
