Chronic wasting disease: How will zombie-like deer impact Kentucky hunting season?
KENTUCKY (FOX 56) — A new case of chronic wasting disease (CWD) will likely throw a wrench in some people’s hunting plans. Signs of the disease are weight loss, brain lesions, and zombie-like behavior.
The illness is common in deer and was recently found in a dead one from a facility in Breckinridge County.
“And we’ve tried to put together the very best plan that we can to make these recommendations to mitigate the disease,” said Gabe Jenkins, deputy commissioner for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources.
On Tuesday, the state approved a CWD surveillance zone in Breckinridge, Hardin, and Meade counties.
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While deer hunting is still allowed, hunters cannot bait deer with items such as corn, grain, or mineral blocks. Deer killed inside the zone cannot be taken outside of it.
Some meeting attendees were not happy with these restrictions, saying several local hunters have already put a lot of time and money into their hunting properties.
“A lot of hunters do not use woodsmanship anymore like they used to,” said one attendee. “They’re hunting straight over a feeder or some kind of mineral, and they’ve hung their stands there and everything. The concern now is if we stop that today, we’ve ruined them for the rest of the season.”
Kentucky Fish and Wildlife officials said an investigation is now underway that will allow them to check the deer population to determine if there are any other CWD cases, but some say banning bait won’t be effective.
“I think it’s going to potentially impact the underparticipation and harvest rates, which is going to be counterintuitive to getting more deer there to sample to see what the prevalence rate is,” said Matt Rhodes, the 3rd District Representative for the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Commission.
Jenkins said this is necessary to limit the spread of the disease among Kentucky’s deer population.
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“We know the disease is on the landscape and we know modes of transportation of that disease from an animal to an animal and how that looks. So, there’s a high probability it’s in the environment. It’s on there. And so, anything we can do right out of the gate to decrease the chances of infection and the spread of the disease is paramount for us.”
No CWD infections in people have ever been reported, but the CDC notes that if CWD could spread to humans, it would most likely be by eating meat from an infected animal.
Anyone with questions or concerns can attend a public meeting set for Nov. 7 at the Breckinridge County Extension Office.
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