Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency testing deer for Chronic Wasting Disease
JACKSON, TN (WNBJ) - With deer season in full swing the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency will be testing deer for Chronic Wasting Disease.
Chronic Wasting Disease is also known as CWD is a prion disease that affects deer, elk, reindeer, sika deer, and moose.
The disease causes drastic weight loss, stumbling, listlessness, and other neurologic symptoms.
The wildlife resources agency wants hunters to bring the deer they have killed in for testing.
“The main thing for the hunters to know is that Weakley county is a high-risk county and Henry county is a CWD positive county. So, what we need from the hunters are samples from these two counties to find out what the prevalence is on the landscape,” said Amy Snider-Spencer, Region 1 Communications, and Outreach with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency.
Deer in Weakley, Gibson, Henry, and McNairy counties have tested positive for the disease. CWD has never been found in humans, but the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency still has to follow CDC guidelines when it comes to testing.
CWD-positive deer should not be eaten.
There are several testing locations and they are listed on the CWD in Tennessee website.
