Latest news with #CWD-positive
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Second case of chronic wasting disease confirmed in Georgia
BERRIN COUNTY, Ga. (WSAV) — A second deer has tested position for chronic wasting disease (CWD) in Georgia, officials confirmed. The four-and-a-half-year-old male deer was taken in Berrien County around 400 yards from the first CWD-positive deer's harvest location. The first positive case of chronic wasting disease in Georgia was confirmed in late January by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR). That sample was taken from a two-and-a-half-year-old male white-tailed deer from private property in Lanier County. The fatal neurological disease has no current treatments or preventative vaccines. CWD affects deer, elk and moose and is caused by infectious, misfolded proteins called prions. DNR established a management area following the first positive case which included Lanier and Berrien counties to determine how far CWD could have spread and what percent of deer in the area are positive. Since the second deer was found in Berrien County, DNR said they will continue to monitor the same management area. The second deer was reportedly taken by a landowner permittee assisting with ongoing sampling as part of DNR's CWD response plan, a DNR press release said. DNR said to keep prevalence low, additional deer are also harvested around each CWD detection since they are most likely to have been in contact with the positive deer. The disease will steadily spread if left unmanaged, DNR reported. 'Our staff continues to work in collaboration with landowners and hunters in the CWD Management Area to sample for the disease. These collaborative efforts will help us manage CWD and ensure Georgia maintains healthy deer herds,' said DNR Commissioner Walter Rabon. While there is no known transmission of CWD to humans, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended that hunters harvesting deer, elk or moose from an area where CWD is known to be present have their animal tested. DNR said that the CDC suggests hunters do this before consuming the meat and to not consume the meat if the animal tests positive. Here's what DNR is saying you could do to help slow the spread of CWD: Report sick-appearing deer to the DNR's Game Management Offices at Don't move deer waste carcass parts from one area to another, leave them where the deer was killed or end up in a landfill for household waste. Never import live deer into Georgia. Importing live deer of any species into Georgia is illegal. Report any importation of live deer to DNR's Law Enforcement Division (1-800-241-4113). Debone meat, clean skull plates, remove all soft tissue from skull mounts. Never bring whole deer carcasses or deer heads into Georgia from out of state. It is illegal. If you witness a deer with any of these symptoms, report it to your local office: dramatic weight loss or wasting poor body condition subtle head tremors head and ear dropping excessive drooling For more information on Chronic Wasting Disease, visit Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
New cases of Chronic Wasting Disease found in Missouri during past year
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) reports the agency has confirmed 243 new cases of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in Missouri deer across 35 counties. Seven counties had their first CWD-positive case: Audrain, Callaway, Lewis, Marion, Miller, Morgan, and Texas, according to a news release. CWD is a fatal, neurological disease affecting deer, elk, and moose. It is contagious and can be transmitted directly between animals or through contaminated environments. Campsites, recreation areas across Kansas and Missouri to close in May, Army says CWD is a 100% fatal disease in white-tailed deer and other members of the deer family. The disease has led to a decline of the deer population in other states, and threatens Missouri's deer population, hunting culture, and economy. The CWD-positive cases were found through sampling and testing of more than 36,000 deer during the past deer-hunting season, and post season targeted removal efforts with most cases being from hunter-harvested deer submitted for sampling. MDC estimates the state has more than 1.5 million white-tailed deer. MDC confirmed an additional 70 cases of CWD found through its targeted-removal efforts of 4,768 deer after the close of deer season. ICE detains mother at citizenship appointment in Kansas City, family says 'The goal of targeted removal is to remove CWD-positive deer and reduce deer density in these localized areas to slow the spread of CWD and protect Missouri's deer herd,' explained MDC Wildlife Health Program Supervisor Deb Hudman. 'Targeted removal is a proven method to slow the spread of CWD and Missouri is one of several sates that uses it to manage the disease.' Hunters and landowners are critical partners in the fight against CWD and can help by continuing to deer hunt, participate in sampling, and following regulations designed to slow spread by cooperating with targeted removal efforts. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Utah officials express concern amid uptick in Wyoming zombie deer disease
SALT LAKE CITY () — What's widely known as 'zombie deer disease' is gradually increasing in the Beehive State. The official name is (CWD) and while it is rare, it can impact mule deer populations throughout Utah. Virginia Stout, a veterinarian with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, told that Utah has seen the disease in its mule deer population since 2002. While the numbers started low, a report from the 2021-22 fiscal year showed only eight positive cases. Stout said the division has had 82 positive cases since July 2024. 'It's been here a long time, but we're just now seeing the elevated impact from the disease,' said Stout. Stout explained that CWD is a misfolded protein that accumulates within the body. It can be transmitted through touch or by interacting with an infected area in the environment, such as after shedding fur and then picking it up through eating grass. Once infected, animals can develop brain lesions, become emaciated, appear listless, and have droopy ears. Stout said as there is currently no cure for the disease, infected animals will eventually die. Stout told the disease is similar to Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, otherwise known as Mad Cow Disease. While CWD mainly affects mule deer, it can also impact the local elk and moose populations as well but Stout said there have been only six elk cases in the Beehive State since 2002 and no moose reported infections. Stout said as of April 2025, there have been no confirmed CWD cases in humans. However, some studies have shown there may be a risk, prompting the Centers for Disease Control to recommend not eating CWD-positive animals. Utah has a mule deer population of about 300,000, depending on the year. 'So 85 compared to that number is small, but we're only testing a subset of that population,' Stout explained. 'We try to get enough samples to represent the whole population but that can be difficult if hunters are aware of submitting samples or they're not concerned about the disease.' Stout said the biggest hot spot is around Moab and the La Sal Mountains in southwest Utah. Other hot spot areas include Vernal and Myton and notably, Stout said, Bountiful has become a big hot spot within the past two years. 'It is shown to decrease the mild deer populations overall, and then if there is a really high prevalence in one area, you'll see it kind of shift and there won't be as many older age classes,' said Stout. 'It's hard to say exactly where we're at in Utah and how much it's impacting the populations, but we have a lot of ongoing research to try and get at those questions.' The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources has a monitoring and management plan for CWD to help prevent or minimize the spread of the disease. Stout said Utah is also working with neighboring states to exchange ideas and tactics to mitigate the disease. But the main tactic is educating the public, such as hunters, on what to look out for. 'Main thing is we need hunter participation to be able to detect and study the disease,' Stout said. 'So any hunters that are hearing this, please admit samples to DWR during hunting season. And then we can be better informed to be able to make changes.' Stout told that the Division of Wildlife Resources typically ramps up community outreach in the fall when hunting season begins. According to DWR, during the hunting season, hunters can make an appointment to bring their animal to a DWR office or visit a DWR check station to have the animal tested for CWD. Hunters should also that appear sick or emaciated to a DWR office, biologist or officer. To learn more about CWD or how to make a report on a suspected case, visit the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources website, . Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
08-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Baiting bill, fee hike among top North Dakota outdoors legislation still in play
Mar. 8—The number of outdoors-related bills introduced during the 2025 session of the North Dakota Legislature is down from previous sessions, but a few pieces of legislation stand out, bill-watchers say. According to John Bradley, executive director of the North Dakota Wildlife Federation, the NDWF has been tracking about 20 bills that impact hunters, anglers and trappers. "Normally, we see about double that in a session," Bradley said. "It's been pretty quiet so far, but the good, positive bills that we've seen have moved through and have had really decent support from our legislators. "So, (we're) kind of optimistic going into the second half." Among the bills the NDWF is tracking is HB 1470 , which would increase the fees of some hunting and fishing licenses. The bill passed the House by a 64-25 vote and now awaits action by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. The price of hunting and fishing licenses in North Dakota hasn't increased since 2013, when the Legislature approved a fee hike that took effect in 2014. The Game and Fish Department is mandated to keep at least $15 million in its reserve fund. Without an increase, that fund is projected to fall below $15 million in the next biennium. "We'll be supporting that in the Senate," Bradley said. "There hasn't been a license fee increase in over a decade. Everything else in this world has become more expensive, whether that's eggs, your mortgage ... you name it, it's gone up. And so, it's due time to keep the Game and Fish whole to keep them above their mandated $15 million reserve fund." The bill could see "a little bit more discussion" in the Senate, Bradley said, especially as it pertains to nonresident license fees. "We may see an uptick (in proposed nonresident fees) as that crosses over to the Senate, but 1470 as a whole is a good bill that we will be supporting," Bradley said. The proverbial elephant in the room among outdoors bills, though, is SB 2137, the so-called "baiting bill," which would prevent the Game and Fish Department from restricting the practice of supplemental feeding for hunting — commonly known as baiting — on private land in units with documented cases of chronic wasting disease. Game and Fish currently prohibits baiting for big game hunting on private land in hunting units with CWD-positive cases or within 25 miles of a confirmed CWD case. Baiting also is prohibited on state and federal lands. A neurological brain disease, CWD is always fatal to deer, elk and moose, although it can take several months or more before obvious symptoms appear. Proponents of the legislation to restrict the Game and Fish Department's current baiting ban authority flocked to the Capitol on Friday, Jan. 17, for the bill's initial hearing before the Senate Agriculture and Veterans Affairs Committee, forcing legislative staff to move the hearing to a larger room. Hunters who favor baiting and oppose efforts to ban it on private land say it's a property rights issue. They say it increases hunting success for young hunters and people with physical limitations. They also question CWD's impact on deer populations and argue it doesn't make sense to restrict baiting for hunting when supplemental feeding is allowed the rest of the year. Opponents, meanwhile, cite the potential disease risks of drawing deer into close quarters. The North Dakota Game and Fish Department in February reported 17 deer tested positive for CWD during the 2024 sampling season — 15 taken by hunters and two "clinical" deer confirmed through diagnostic examination. That brings the statewide total to 122 since 2009, when the disease first was detected in unit 3F2 in south-central North Dakota. The Senate approved SB 2137 by a 31-15 vote in late January, with a "sunset clause" amendment that the legislation be effective through July 31, 2029. The bill had its first hearing before the House Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Friday, March 7, but no action was taken. Similar legislation passed the House by a 76-18 vote during the 2023 legislative session, only to be defeated in the Senate by a 26-21 vote in the closing days of the session. Two other bills introduced this session in the House — HB 1236 and HB 1325 , both of which would have limited the Game and Fish Department's ability to manage for CWD — were soundly defeated. One in particular, HB 1236, would have prohibited the department from using license dollars for CWD management. That bill was defeated by a vote of 63-27. Bradley of the NDWF says he thinks SB 2137 will get a "far more thorough" look in the House. "Our take on it is the (Game and Fish) Department is the best (option) to manage CWD in our state, and banning baiting in certain areas is one of the best tools to slow the spread of CWD," Bradley said. "And with any wildlife disease or even livestock disease, to lock something up in statute doesn't really give the agencies the proper leverage to be able to address something on the fly." As of Wednesday, March 5, the bill had received 247 pieces of written testimony on the North Dakota Legislative Branch website. Another bill that stands out, Bradley says, is HB 1094, which would allocate up to 10 big game licenses to nonprofit groups for fundraising. Existing legislation limits the allocation to 501C3 nonprofits, but HB 1094 would expand that to 501C19 nonprofits, which are veterans' organizations, Bradley said. The bill also would increase the percentage of fundraising proceeds that would have to go to conservation from 10%, the current level, up to 20%. "So, if a nonprofit were to get a moose tag and, say, raise $50,000, you'd be looking at $10,000 going back into the resource instead of just the original $5,000," Bradley said. Among other bills of note, HB 1237, which would have allowed nonresident hunters to buy full-season licenses for upland game and small game instead of limiting them to a 14-day license or two 7-day licenses, was defeated by an 86-4 vote in the House. Meanwhile, HB 1260, which would allocate nonresident any-deer bow licenses based on 15% of the current year's mule deer gun license allocation, passed the House by a vote of 87-3. Currently, the nonresident bow allocation is based on 15% of the previous year's mule deer gun license allocation. The change, if passed, would give the Game and Fish Department more flexibility in managing nonresident any-deer bow license numbers in years when mule deer populations are down. "If a bad winter were to come through and really wipe out the deer it would give more accurate counts heading into the next year, as opposed to the current system of using last year's numbers," Bradley said. For a complete listing of outdoors-related bills and their status in the Legislature, check out the Outdoors Legislation page of the Game and Fish website at Where North Dakota lawmakers vote on specific outdoors-related legislation, individual bills in the Minnesota Legislature, if they survive scrutiny, often are incorporated into an all-encompassing omnibus bill that includes several pieces of legislation as the session progresses. Among the bills currently in play are House File 276 and HF 413 , which would affect the cost of fishing licenses for residents age 65 and older. According to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, HF 276 would reduce the cost of a license by $10 for seniors, with lost revenue appropriated from the state's General Fund to the DNR's Game and Fish Fund. HF 413 would allow people 65 and older to fish without a license. Both bills have been laid over to possibly be included in an omnibus bill. A few other bills of note: * HF 944: Would allow landowners to use purple paint to mark no trespassing areas instead of placing physical signs. * HF 1120: Would establish and appropriate money to the Keep It Clean program, an effort encouraging anglers and fish house owners to pick up after themselves while on the ice. The bill would direct the DNR commissioner to develop a grant program to provide funds to local units of nongovernment organizations. * HF 1387: Would prohibit the sale, manufacture and use of lead tackle. Specifically, anglers couldn't use lead jigs weighing 1 ounce or less, or sinkers measuring 2 1/2 inches or less in length.
Yahoo
16-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Outdoors: Chronic Wasting Disease isn't coming – it's here
When the presence of Chronic Wasting Disease was first discovered in Pennsylvania deerhalf a state away, locally the reaction was one of superficial concern. Wishful thinking was that the always-fatal neurological disease caused by a misfoldedprotein called prions in deer and elk would somehow contain itself. CWD is atransmissible spongiform encephalopathy and is similar to scrapie in sheep, mad cowdisease in cattle and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans. Little by little, however, CWD moved closer and closer to the area until only those whoclaimed the disease was a hoax by the Pennsylvania Game Commission as an excuse to'kill more deer' understood it was not a matter if it would affect our area, but when. Twoweeks ago when became now after the PGC in conjunction with the PennsylvaniaDepartment of Agriculture, announced two deer had tested positive for CWD in a newarea of Pennsylvania. Two matured bucks — one taken by a hunter and one from a captivefacility — were detected with CWD in Luzerne County, 40 miles from the nearest wildCWD detection. They will ultimately result in Disease Management Area changes later this spring – thedetails of which will be released following the Board of Game Commissioners meeting inApril. Certainly the presence of CWD in our backyard is unsettling, but as bad as thatnews was, last week it got worse when CWD was discovered on our doorstep when amature buck was detected in Packer Township, Carbon County. This detection is the first in Carbon County and is more than 10 miles from any otherconfirmed CWD-positive deer. The deer was found dead by a landowner and wasseverely emaciated. In Luzerne County the captive deer that tested positive for CWD in December was from abreeding deer farm. Initial positive test results from the Pennsylvania Animal DiagnosticSystem Laboratory were confirmed in the USDA's National Veterinary ServicesLaboratory in Ames, Iowa, December 23. The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture placed the farm under a quarantine order forfive years. The order requires the farm to test any additional deer that die on the farm,and not transfer any deer on or off the farm, and any subsequent positive test results willextend the quarantine order requirements and restrictions for another five years. Pennsylvania deer farms must participate in one of two stringent programs – the HerdCertified Program, or the Herd Monitored Program. The Herd Certified Program meetsU.S. Department of Agriculture CWD standards and is required for any cervid farmerwishing to ship deer across state lines. Both programs require proper IDs; record-keepingon all animals moved on or off farms; annual herd inventories; reporting of CWD suspectanimals and animals that die, escape or are stolen; maintaining a minimum 8-foot-highfence; obtaining permits to import animals from out-of-state; and other measures tomonitor herds for disease. Only farms enrolled in the Herd Certified Program arepermitted to move live deer across state lines, with official identification that will aid veterinarians in tracking disease origins in the event remaining deer die and testpositive. CWD spreads through direct animal-to-animal contact, as well as indirectly throughprion-contaminated environments. CWD-infected deer shed prions through saliva, urineand feces, and infected carcasses contribute to environmental contamination. Once in soil, CWD prions remain infectious for decades. Therefore, feeding deer isstrongly discouraged and is illegal within existing DMAs. There is no evidence of CWD infecting humans or other species under natural conditions,however, much is still unknown about CWD, therefore the Centers for Disease Controland Prevention recommends not eating the meat of a CWD-positive deer. ChronicWasting Disease programs in captive deer are managed by the PA Department ofAgriculture and are necessary to help slow the spread of the disease and allow thesebusinesses to operate. The PGC will host an informational meeting to answer questions from the public,Thursday, Feb. 27, form 6-8 p.m., at Penn State Hazleton, Graham Building Room 115,Parking Lot F, 76 University Drive, Hazleton 18202. For information contact the PGCCWD Hotline at 1-833-INFOCWD, email INFOCWD@ or go . (Dietz is a member of the Pennsylvania Outdoor Writers Association)Contact the writer: outdoors@
