Why It Matters: Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) that impacts members of the cervid family including deer, elk, caribou, and moose. This highly transmissible neurological disease is always fatal to infected animals, complicating wildlife management efforts. While there is currently no evidence that CWD can be transmitted from deer to humans, the CDC does not recommend consuming meat from known CWD-positive animals.
Highlights:
- Chronic Wasting Disease has been detected in 36 states across the country including California, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah.
- CWD remains undetected in Arizona despite confirmed cases in neighboring states, and the Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD) is encouraging hunters to bring the head of their harvested animal to any Department office statewide to test for CWD.
- The Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) encourages state legislators to work with state fish and wildlife agencies to help prevent the spread of CWD within their state.
CWD is a progressive, fatal, degenerative neurological disease occurring in both farmed and free-ranging deer, elk, caribou, and moose. Because the disease has a long incubation period, cervids infected with CWD may not present any visible signs of the disease for up to two years after exposure. As the disease progresses, cervids with CWD show changes in behavior and appearance. These clinical signs may include progressive weight loss, stumbling, tremors, lack of coordination, blank facial expressions, excessive salivation and drooling, loss of appetite, excessive thirst and urination, listlessness, abnormal head posture, and drooping ears.
AZGFD has been testing for the presence of CWD in Arizona since 1998, and the state remains one of the few where the disease has not yet been detected, despite its presence in bordering states. AZGFD encourages hunters to bring the head of their harvested animal to a department office for CWD sampling. This fall, they have already tested more than 600 deer and elk and hope to sample 1,500 animals this season. Hunters returning to Arizona with harvested deer or elk from another state are urged to not illegally import cervid carcasses or parts containing brain or spinal tissue. Hunters are also asked to contact the department if they see an animal that looks sick.
CSF applauds AZFGD’s work to keep CWD at bay in Arizona and encourages hunters to help state fish and wildlife agencies track the spread of the disease.
For additional information on CWD and disease testing, please check your state’s fish and wildlife agency’s website.
