Brucellosis detected in Wyoming hunt area

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (KIFI) - The Wyoming Game and Fish Department has detected brucellosis in Elk Hunt Area 45 on the western slope of the Bighorn Mountains. The cow elk was harvested by a hunter in late October.  

The positive detection was confirmed in November by the National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Ames, Iowa. The Wyoming Livestock Board is working closely with Game and Fish to monitor the disease. 

Brucellosis has not been documented in livestock in this area. 

Brucellosis exposure in elk was previously detected on the western slope of the Bighorn Mountains from 2012-16, and again in 2022. In 2022, brucellosis was detected in a hunter-harvested bull elk in the same hunt area. Game and Fish will continue surveillance efforts in the Bighorn Mountains to determine the extent and distribution of the disease.