The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency looks to keep a fatal disease impacting deer and elk out of the state.
TWRA Commissioner Brian McLerran says Chronic Wasting Disease impacts several states with officials finding it difficult to control
“We’re really trying to cut down on any of the surrogates that might be carrying these prions that might be getting into our deer herd in the future,” McLerran says. “We’re being told that a standard incinerator will not kill the prions that cause the CWD.”
McLerran says although he has not personally encountered a deer with the disease, there are several signs hunters should watch for just in case.
“The deer [with CWD] just aren’t acting right, not being afraid of people. Some of the ones I’ve seen they’re going in circles,” McLerran says. “They’ll be losing weight and just be skin and bones and will be hard to keep their bodies up to a healthy condition. Those are some of the things I’ve seen in presentations and so forth.”
McLerran recommends Tennessee hunters who encounters a deer or elk with CWD to contact their local TWRA office immediately.
“I know there is some testing going on and they’re wanting to test some of the older, more-mature bucks,” McLerran says. “Evidently this doesn’t show up really well in the younger animals. There’s a certain number of tests going on across the state and every county to keep an eye out for that sort of thing.”
The TWRA advises hunters to not transport deer carcasses into or out of the state unless the meat is separated from the bone or skulls and teeth have been cleaned.
The Center for Disease Control reports the disease does not effect people but advises hunters who harvest deer or elk to have them tested to be safe. The CDC also says the disease likely spreads among the animals through body fluids or environmental contamination.
At least 25 states have received reports of wildlife being contaminated with CWD, mostly within the Midwest, Northeast, and central parts of the country. Four states that border Tennessee have received reports of the disease, including Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri, and Virginia.
