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GMU 34 Elk Hunters Asked to Bring Heads for CWD Testing
A collection station runs October 17 to 21, and carcass restrictions in the unit are mandatory.
The New Mexico Department of Game and Fish is asking elk hunters in Game Management Unit 34 to bring in the heads of their animals for chronic wasting disease testing. CWD has been found in the unit before, and the department wants to see how far it has spread.
A collection station will run October 17 through 21 at the intersection of the Sunspot Highway and the Cox Canyon Highway, State Road 130. Bring the head in within 48 hours of the kill; keeping it cold or on ice, but not frozen, can stretch that window. Testing is voluntary, and hunters who take part are entered in a draw for an elk or oryx authorization.
What is not voluntary is the carcass rule. In GMU 34 you may take out only cut and wrapped or boned-out meat, quarters with no part of the head or spine attached, hides without heads, clean skull plates with antlers, antlers with no tissue, elk ivories, and heads finished by a taxidermist.
CWD is a fatal prion disease of deer, elk and moose. No human cases have been reported, but public health officials advise against eating meat from an infected animal. The department asks hunters to pass this on to anyone holding a 2026–27 deer or elk tag in the unit.
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