Refunds offered to 9,000 North Dakota deer hunters due to disease outbreak - Bismarck Tribune

White-tailed deer spotted in Theodore Roosevelt National Park's South Unit on Nov.

North Dakota's Game and Fish Department is offering license refunds to more than 9,000 deer hunters due to an outbreak of disease in western North Dakota.

Large areas of some affected units had no reports of deaths, however, and Game and Fish encourages hunters to check with people in their hunting area to find out the extent of mortality.

It impacts white-tailed deer more than mule deer, due to the makeup of the animals.

The last similar outbreak in the region was in 2011, when deer deaths also occurred into October and prompted Game and Fish to offer refunds to more than 13,000 hunters with whitetail tags in 11 units.

The state Game and Fish Department made available 69,050 licenses for white-tailed deer and mule deer in 2020.

White-tailed deer license holders who want a refund must mail their tag, along with a note requesting a refund due to EHD, to the Game and Fish Department’s Bismarck office no later than Nov5

North Dakota's Game and Fish Department is issuing 69,050 deer licenses this year, up more than 5% from last year