The Idaho State Department of Agriculture (ISDA) received confirmation today that one domestic bull elk has tested positive for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in Madison County. This detection marks the first case of CWD identified in a captive elk facility in Idaho. 
A domestic elk died at the Madison County facility and tissue samples were submitted for routine testing. USDA National Veterinary Services Laboratory (NVSL) confirmed the CWD detection.
The infected animal was among a group of elk transported to the Idaho ranch in March 2023 from a facility in Alberta, Canada. The Idaho elk facility met the requirements for international movements and was approved to import the animals. Shortly after the shipment was received in Idaho, the origin ranch in Alberta confirmed a CWD-positive elk on the premises. Once ISDA was notified of the CWD-positive elk from the Canadian ranch, the shipment that arrived in Idaho was placed under a protective quarantine to restrict further movement of the CWD-exposed animals. All remaining elk that arrived in the 2023 shipment are alive and will remain under state-issued quarantine.
CWD was first detected in wild deer in Idaho in 2021 and the following year in wild elk. CWD is a rare disease affecting the brains of mule deer, black-tailed deer, white-tailed deer, elk, moose and reindeer. The disease belongs to a group of diseases called transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). There is no known cure for TSEs, and they always are fatal in susceptible host species.
No CWD infections in people have been reported. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control recommends that people do not eat meat from CWD affected animals.
The ISDA regulates all captive cervid farms for recordkeeping, disease testing, movement and permit requirements. The ISDA has notified the Idaho Department of Fish and Game and will move forward working with the affected facility pursuant to Idaho’s restrictions.
