Disease outbreak impacts hunting in North Dakota’s southwestern units

An outbreak of epizootic hemorrhagic disease has been detected in hunting zones in south-central and southwestern North Dakota, prompting the state s Game and Fish Department to make changes to certain units, including prohibiting the harvest of white-tailed deer in the impacted areas. We know how important deer hunting season is to North Dakotans, and we're doing everything we can to make these changes as targeted as possible while protecting the long-term health of our deer herds, Gov. Kelly Armstrong said during a press conference on Monday, Oct. 19. Our deer population is still recovering from the devastating losses in 2021, and this latest outbreak of EHD is another serious setback. Every doe that survives this season gives us a better chance to rebuild the herd. These are difficult decisions, but taking action now is the right thing to do for the long-term future of deer hunting in North Dakota. To help the deer herds in the affected areas, Game and Fish is pr