Georgia hunters vigilant as chronic wasting disease in deer is in several contiguous states

ALBANY‒ After an almost three-year legal battle, Texas public health and wildlife officials recently “depopulated” the entire deer herd on the RW Trophy ranch in the Lone Star State. In total, more than 250 deer were killed, dissected, and disposed of in an effort to protect the state's wild deer population from the chronic wasting disease (CWD) discovered in the herd.

Chronic wasting disease is a form of transmissible spongiform encephalopathy affecting deer. The symptoms of the disease in deer include weight loss, tremors, repetitive walking patterns, increased urination and salivation, teeth grinding and the loss of fear of humans. In many ways, it is similar to CJD, or mad cow disease, in cattle. It was first identified in 1967 in mule deer at a research center in northern Colorado. Since then, it has spread through deer herds in more than 30 states.

Although no "Zombie Deer” have been found in Georgia, the discovery of infected deer in Florida last year has the state surrounded with the exception of South Carolina. Therefore, concern and caution are justified here.

“We do see it as a threat, but it's a little bit more complicated than that," Charlie Killmaster, the state deer biologist with the Georgia DNR Wildlife Resources Division said. "It is a long-term disease, meaning that it could potentially be decades before it builds up to the point where it's actually impacting our deer population. So it's slow in that sense but, on the other hand, you know the more complicating factor is the concern over transmission to humans.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published a report “Fatal degenerative neurologic illnesses in men who participated in wild game feasts — Wisconsin, 2002” in 2003. In its conclusion, the report stated, “Although no association between CWD and CJD was found, continued surveillance of both diseases remains important to assess the possible risk for CWD transmission to humans. ... No CWD infections in people has ever been reported. And it's not known if people can even get infected with CWD. However, CWD is related to another prion disease in animals that does infect people. So it is considered a theoretical risk to people."

A major reason for this concern that it is always fatal in infected animals, and currently no vaccine or treatment exists.

With CDC studies showing that 1 in 5 U.S. residents hunts deer and elk, and more than 60% acknowledging they eat venison or elk meat, these groups would likely be at a higher risk if CWD does spread to humans. Some studies with monkeys have indicated that CWD can be spread by eating meat or brain and spinal tissue of infected deer or elk. With the similarity to the spread of mad cow disease in humans, efforts to reduce risk are advisable.

When hunting in areas with CWD activity, the CDC recommends hunters follow these steps to reduce the risk of contact with the disease:

· Do not shoot, handle or eat animals that look sick or act strangely.

· Do not touch or eat meat from animals found dead (roadkill).

When field-dressing a deer or handling meat:

· Wear latex or rubber gloves

· Avoid handling its internal organs, especially the brain or spine.

· Do not use knives or other tools you use in your kitchen.

When hunting out of state, check the local wildlife and health department recommendations before your hunt. See if they recommend or require testing harvested animals for CWD in the area you will be hunting, as this varies by state. If a deer is processed commercially, consider asking to have the animal processed individually. This ensures you are only getting meat from your animal. If your animal tests positive for CWD, do not eat the meat.

In an effort to prevent the spread of CWD in Georgia’s deer herds, a number of regulations have been initiated.

“The No. 1 way to transmit it into a new area is to move deer into the area, ”Killmaster said. “That is how it has spread in many areas. We don’t have a captive whitetail industry in Georgia, which is probably why we don’t have (the disease) here yet.”

Unfortunately, if individuals do attempt to illegally transport deer into Georgia for genetic purposes, they will not necessarily know whether the deer they bring in are infected, as infected animals may look perfectly healthy for 18 to 30 months before exhibiting symptoms and dying.

Anyone who harvests a white-tailed deer, mule deer, elk, moose, caribou, or any other species of deer outside Georgia may bring back only the following carcass parts: 1) boned-out meat or products thereof; 2) hides with no heads attached; 3) antlers, skulls, skull plates, teeth, or jawbones with no soft tissue attached; 4) finished taxidermy products.

“I think one thing we should all do is start making sure we are properly disposing of the carcasses of harvested deer killed within the state,” Killmaster said.

He recommended not removing carcasses from the area where they are harvested. If they are moved any significant distance, they should be bagged and placed in a landfill. Killmaster said that many people mistakenly believe that fish, turtles and crawfish will clean up carcasses. But it is a major pollution problem leading to fish kills and the potential spread of CWD and other diseases. Studies indicate that once CWD prions are in the soil, they appear to remain for decades.

“It’s not going to come in and wipe out the deer herd overnight," Killmaster said of the disease. "It doesn’t operate like that.”

The biologist said he is currently optimistic that we can keep the prevalence of chronic wasting disease low, even if we do not prevent it from occurring. Mark Williams, commissioner with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, highlighted his concerns in his message to hunters in this year's Hunting Regulations.

“With recent discoveries of chronic wasting disease in several of our neighboring states and a declining turkey population, adhering to Georgia’s hunting regulations is as important as ever,” he said.

Although CWD has not been discovered in Georgia, hunters may contact a local Game Management office to make an appointment for testing. For details, visit https://georgiawildlife.com/cwd.