From The Archives: First case of Chronic Wasting Disease in 2015

TYLER, Texas ( KETK ) – In this From the Archives report, 2015 biologists were tracking a case of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), which still impacts East Texans who hunt deer.

Just last month, a CWD case was reported in a Trinity County deer breeding facility . Former KETK reporter, Cara Prichard, spoke to officials as the first case of CWD in 2015 was reported.

The hunting industry in Texas is worth millions of dollars, but CWD cases raise concerns for hunter and breeders in the state.

In 2015, officials met in Austin to address the issue. Experts said their biggest advice for hunters is to educate themselves about CWD.

“Be vigilant, but keep doing what you’re doing. Don’t cancel any of your hunting plans this year. Certainly don’t cancel a lease if you’re a landowner,” Dr. John Tomecek, with Wildlife Extension Specialist at San Angelo, said.

According to Texas Parks and Wildlife, CWD is a fatal neurological disease that was first discovered in West Texas in 2012 and in a captive white-tailed deer in 2015.

Experts say there’s no evidence CWD can be transmitted to humans or livestock.

“Anytime you have an animal that looks like it might be sickly you don’t want to shoot and eat that animal,” Tomecek said. “With chronic wasting we do worry about the spreading of the disease potentially through those carcasses.”

Tomecek advises hunters to not keep any part of the deer’s nervous system and dispose of it when processing the meat so other deer don’t come in contact with it.

“We don’t know if we have CWD in a bunch of places, but this is one of those management practices from other states that they recommend,” Tomecek said.

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