The firearm big game hunting season starts Saturday and the DEC wants hunters to watch for CWD.
NY State's most popular big game hunting season begins on Saturday according to the Department of Environmental Conservation. The regular firearms hunting season for deer and bears will continue through December 7th. This year the DEC encourages all hunters to help prevent diseases like Chronic Wasting Disease. Hunters can help by taking the following precautions: Avoid using deer urine-based lures; use synthetic products instead. Dispose of deer carcass in a landfill, not on the landscape and Hunt only wild deer and support fair hunting principles. DEC continues to monitor the region where an isolated detection of CWD in a captive deer occurred in October 2024. The Department tested samples from 196 wild deer. CWD was not detected in any of the wild deer samples. These results are encouraging, but additional sampling is needed in 2025 and future years to ensure CWD is not present in wild deer.

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