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Deer and Elk Chronic Wasting Disease

deer elk chronic wasting disease, deer, elk, deer hunting, elk hunting, deer processing, field dressing deer, deer meat, deer disease
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As the fall hunting season progresses, it's important to be aware of chronic wasting disease (CWD), a type of spongiform encephalopathy similar to mad cow disease, that afflicts deer and elk in North America.


Though there are no confirmed cases of animal-to-human infection, the disease may take several years to surface, so the Center for Disease Control recommends that everyone follow these guidelines:

  • Avoid eating meat from deer and elk that look sick or test positive for CWD.

  • If you harvest deer or elk from areas known to be CWD positive, consider having the animals tested before consuming them. Most state wildlife agencies have information about testing services.



While scientists don't know for sure how this degenerative neurological illness is transmitted, evidence suggests the disease is spread through direct animal-to-animal contact, or through contaminated feed and water sources.

CWD was first identified in captive mule deer during the late 1960s in Colorado, and in wild populations by 1981. In the mid-'90s, CWD was found among free-ranging deer and elk in northeastern Colorado and southeastern Wyoming, where the disease is now endemic.

Cases of CWD have been reported in the following 11 states: Wyoming, Nebraska, South Dakota, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Illinois, New Mexico, New York, Wisconsin and West Virginia.

For more information, including specific recommendations on field dressing deer and elk, visit the Center for Disease Control site, or the Chronic Wasting Disease Alliance.

2 Comments

  • Billy Davis 11/11/2006 12:00:00 AM

    We have CWD because of mans greed, by grounding updead animals
    and feeding them back to the cattle to make them grow faster, the
    whole world now hasCWD thanks to money hungry feed
    suppliers.http://www.yahweh.comO.H.

  • JAMES knochel 11/10/2006 12:00:00 AM

    Mark Purdey, an organic British farmer, thinks that chronic
    wasting disease is just another environmental illness. It is caused
    by nuclear contamination and/or copper deficiency and/or manganese
    toxicity. See his website: http://www.markpurdey.com/

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