I can understand your concern about plague and such. But read the warnings very carefully. The warnings are to not pick up dead animals you find in the wild. They are not talking about healthy animals you kill.
During my years as a trapper I collected blood samples to identify any possible plague infected animals for the Oregon State Health Department. They gave specific instructions about what to look for and what to avoid. Basically if the animal population is healthy you won't find plague. When plague infected fleas get in a rodent population the rodents die very quickly. Right after the animal dies from the plague the fleas start looking of a new host. This is when/how the disease is spread. If you find dead rodents in the field leave them alone.
If you kill an animal in the field and you see fleas crawling all over it, don't touch it.
We live with these ground squirrels, they are every where. Yet we aren't all dying up here from plague. Isolated incidents do occur, but that is because the infected populations of rodent are also isolated.
If you are hunting prairie dogs and there are healthy animals running all over you don't need to worry a great deal about plague. If you go to a Dog town that in the past have been viable active town and you are not seeing very many animal's and finding carcasses get out.
The University of Alberta recently released a study that said plague has not been found in Richardsons Ground Squirrel since the early 1950's.
This plague warning is about like the warning you see on the barrel of a Ruger rifle warning about the hazards of shooting or the warning label that comes on a bullet molds about the danger of lead poisoning. It's meant to scare you out of taking part in the related activities. Do you get the subliminal message.
This applies to your beloved Prairie Dogs also. The warning is real, but grossly exaggerated and vastly misunderstood. Plague is not not running rampant through out the rodent populations out here. It exist to be sure, and caution will keep you safe.
