LANDOWNERS RECEIVE INFO ON CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE

  

Washington County landowners and hunters had the opportunity on Wednesday to learn more about chronic wasting disease (CWD), its impact on the deer population and what can be done to halt its spread.

Officials from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) hosted the public at an informational meeting at the Washington County Expo, where they outlined the steps that will be taken during the upcoming deer season following the county’s first recorded case earlier this year at a deer-breeding facility. 

Alan Cain, TPWD Big Game Program Director and the leader of Wednesday’s presentation, said the combined efforts of the department and the community are meant to stop the disease from spreading beyond the one confirmed case.   

CWD is a degenerative prion disease that erodes the victim’s neurological function, causing symptoms like weight loss, stumbling, salivating and an overall appearance of “wasting” away.  It is ultimately fatal, and there is no treatment or vaccine. 

The disease spreads through direct animal-to-animal contact, environmental contamination and improper carcass disposal.  The prions that are shed by a carrier of CWD can remain infectious for years and are persistent in the environment.  The disease can take over a year before an animal shows symptoms.  Presently, no rapid diagnostic tests are available.

According to Cain, CWD has been discovered in 22 counties in Texas, including eight new counties since March, when Washington County confirmed its first case.  The first discovery in Texas was in 2012 in West Texas, and testing ramped up significantly in 2015. 

While there is no evidence at this time that the disease can transmit to humans, wildlife experts recommend avoiding eating meat from infected animals.  Currently, the main concerns are about the disease’s impact to deer population and survival, hunting and hunter participation, and the economy.   

Cain said TPWD’s strategies are to prevent the disease from being introduced to new areas, contain it where it is, determine its prevalence and eradicate it if detected early enough, control live animal and carcass movements, implement strategic harvest in endemic areas, minimize concentration of animals and manage positive captive facilities.

A 2-mile surveillance zone around the area of the first positive case is located just north of Brenham, with the Brenham Municipal Airport close to the center.  In this zone, any wildlife that is harvested must be submitted for sample testing.  The zone, according to Cain, affects approximately 578 properties that are either within the 2-mile zone or 5-mile buffer area. 

Deer head samples must be presented for testing within 48 hours of harvest.  A whole carcass cannot be taken out of the zone; hunters can quarter the carcass and take only the meat, no internal organs.  Carcasses can be brought to a deer processing facility in the zone.  For taxidermy purposes, a waiver can be obtained to take a head to a taxidermist. 

A drop box to submit samples will be located in the large parking lot on Blue Bell Road between the constable headquarters and the Exxon station at the corner of Blue Bell Road and Highway 105.  The site will be open from September 30^th to February 29, 2024.  The drop box will be open for 24-hour self-serve access and via appointment to bring the head with 4 to 6 inches of neck.  Samples must be wrapped in a large plastic bag and include the specific harvest location, along with other details like contact information.

Cain said samples will be sent to College Station within one or two days of being collected and usually take about 10-14 days to return a result.  If a positive is detected, TPWD will establish a larger surveillance zone to cast a wider net of testing, as well as a containment zone for live animal movement restrictions.