NEWLY DETECTED CWD-POSITIVE LEADS TO DMA3 EXPANSION AND A NEW DMA

HARRISBURG, PA - A CWD-positive deer recently detected in Jefferson County has led to new regulations to reduce the risk of the disease spreading.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission today announced the expansion of Disease Management Area 3 (DMA 3) and the creation of a new DMA (DMA 6).

Detection of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in a road-killed deer on the northern boundary of DMA3 prompted these changes. The adult male was collected as part of ongoing CWD surveillance efforts.

CWD affects deer, elk, and other members of the deer family. The disease is fatal to any deer or elk infected with it, and CWD has no treatment or cure.

When a new CWD-positive is detected in either a wild or captive deer or elk in Pennsylvania, a Disease Management Area (DMA) is established. DMAs are created to reduce risk of human-assisted spread of CWD.

This new CWD detection is within 2 miles of Pennsylvania’s elk management area. The short distance to the elk management area required creating DMA 6 within the elk management area. DMA 6 will prevent high-risk parts from the entirety of DMA 3 being moved into the elk management area.

“If a CWD-positive animal is found within any elk hunt zone, all elk hunt zones will become a DMA due to the behavior and longer distance movements of elk,” said Andrea Korman, Game Commission CWD wildlife biologist. “If this were to occur, the impact on deer and elk populations, hunters, and the public will be significant. Although this has not occurred yet, this newly found positive deer shows how close it is.”

DMA 6 was created to restrict movement of high-risk parts into the elk management area and to restrict human activities known to increase disease risk.

Within all DMAs, it is unlawful to:

 

• Remove or export any deer or elk high-risk parts (e.g., head, spinal column, and spleen) from a DMA. This also prevents movement of high-risk parts between adjacent DMAs

• Use or possess deer or elk urine-based attractants

• Directly or indirectly feed wild, free-ranging deer. It is already illegal to feed elk regardless of DMA location

• Rehabilitate wild, free-ranging deer or elk

   

To increase surveillance around the detection, a new DMAP Unit (#4760) was also created. Over 1,300 permits have been made available for this unit and allow hunters to take up to two additional antlerless deer. Hunters can get DMAP permits by providing the unit number (4760) online or at license-issuing agents.

In conjunction with the additional hunting opportunities, hunters are asked to provide samples for CWD testing. Submitting harvested deer heads for CWD testing helps determine the extent of CWD infection.

The Game Commission offers free CWD testing within the DMAs. Hunters should deposit the heads of deer they harvest with properly filled out and legible harvest tags in one of the head-collection containers the Game Commission provides within DMAs. Locations of head-collection containers can be found at http://bit.ly/PGC-CWDMapOpens In A New Window. Antlers should be removed from bucks before the double-bagged head is placed in a collection container. Hunters can check for their test results online or by calling the CWD hotline (1-833-INFOCWD).

For deer hunters in DMAs – especially those who live outside the DMA – it’s important to plan their hunt and know ahead of time what they will do with any deer harvested. Since high-risk cervid parts can’t be removed from any DMA, even if they share a boundary like DMAs 3 and 6, successful hunters cannot transport whole deer outside the DMA.

Hunters can take deer they harvest to a processor within the DMA or on the list of approved processors for the DMA where they harvested the deer. The list of approved processors and taxidermists is available at www.pgc.pa.gov/CWD. Approved processors properly dispose of the high-risk parts. Hunters can also dispose of high-risk parts in trash that is destined for a landfill or quarter the animal and leave the high-risk parts at the kill site. The meat, antlers (free of brain material) and other low-risk parts then can be transported outside the DMA.

Deer hunters getting taxidermy mounts also must take their harvests to a taxidermist within the DMA or on the list of approved processors and taxidermists for the DMA in which they harvested the deer available at www.pgc.pa.gov/CWD.

Although CWD has not been documented in humans, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends never eating the meat of a CWD-positive deer.

Much more information on CWD is available at www.pgc.pa.gov/CWD.

DMA 3 boundary has been expanded and is as follows:

Beginning at the southernmost point at the intersection of State Highway 403 and State Highway 286 in the town of Clymer, proceed east on State Highway 286 for 4.9 miles to State Highway 240. Follow in State Highway 240 east for 8.5 miles to the intersection of US Highway 219. Follow US Highway 219 north for 2.4 miles to Sylvis Road. Follow Sylvis Road east for 5.8 miles to the intersection of State Highway 36. Follow State Highway 36 east for 8.8 miles to the intersection of La Jose Road (SR-3016) in Newburg. Follow La Jose Road east for 3.6 miles becoming Cherry Corner Road (SR-3005) for another .3 mile to the intersection of Marron Road (SR-3016). Turn left onto Marron Road and follow northeast for 2.7 miles to the intersection of State Road 729. Follow State Road 729 east for .9 miles to the intersection of Old Station Road. Follow Old Station Road (SR-2012) east for 2.4 miles to the intersection of Douglas Road (SR-3007). Continue east on Douglas Road for .3 miles to the intersection of Zion Road (SR-2012) near New Millport. Follow Zion Road east for 4.5 miles to the intersection of Faunce Road (SR-2012). Turn right and follow Faunce Road east for 3.1 miles becoming Sanborn Road (SR-2012) in Woodward Township. Continue east on Sanborn Road for 2.5 miles to the intersection of State Highway 153. Follow State Highway 153 north for 5 miles to the intersection of Valley Road (SR-2027). Follow Valley Road north for 2.1 miles becoming Hogback Hill Road (SR-2027). Continue north on Hogback Hill Road for 1 mile to the intersection of Main Street in Mineral Springs. Turn right on Main Street for .2 miles to the intersection of Bigler Cutoff Road. Turn left on Bigler Cutoff Road for .1 miles to the intersection of US Highway 322. Follow US Highway 322 east for .7 miles to the intersection of State Highway 970. Follow State Highway 970 north for 1.5 miles to the intersection of Interstate Highway 80. Follow I-80 west for 26.4 miles to the exit for State Highway 219 north. Follow State Highway 219 north for 21.2 miles to Boot Jack becoming State Route 948. Follow State Route 948 for 4.2 miles to the Clarion River in Ridgway. Follow the Clarion River for 28.3 miles to Bridge Road. Continue south on Bridge Road for 0.05 mile to the intersection of State Highway 949. Turn right on State Highway 949 and continue west for 16.3 miles to the intersection of US Highway 322 in Corsica. Follow US Highway 322 east for 0.3 miles to the intersection of State Highway 949. Follow State Highway 949 south for 4.2 miles to the intersection of State Highway 28. Follow State Highway 28 south for 13.2 miles to the intersection of State Highway 839 in New Bethlehem. Follow State Highway 839 south for 21 miles to State Highway 85. Follow State Highway 85 south for 11.7 miles to the intersection of US Highway 119 in the town of Home. Turn left on US Highway 119 and follow 3.4 miles to the intersection of State Highway 403 in Marion Center. Follow State Highway 403 south for 8.5 miles to Clymer at the place of beginning.

DMA 6 is in portions of Clearfield, Elk, and Jefferson Counties and its exact boundary is as follows:

Beginning at the northeast corner at the intersection of Chicken Hill Road and State Route 948 in the town of Kersey, proceed south on Chicken Hill Road for 0.9 mile becoming South Kersey Road. Follow South Kersey Road south for 1.4 miles. Continue straight onto Boone Mountain Road for 6.5 miles to the intersection with State Route 153. Turn left onto State Route 153 and continue south 4.9 miles to State Route 255. Turn right on State Route 255 and continue south for 9.5 miles to Interstate Highway 80. Turn right on Interstate Highway 80 and continue west 4.4 miles to State Highway 219. Turn right on State Highway 219 and continue north 21.1 miles to State Route 948. Turn right on State Route 948 and proceed east for 5.3 miles to Kersey at the place of beginning.

PA Deer farm operators claim wild deer are infecting their stock

By John Hayes / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

HOLLIDAYSBURG, Pa. — The “ridge and valley” region is a beautiful swath of south-central Pennsylvania. Rising out of the Maryland panhandle, it spreads about 80 miles between the Allegheny Front west of Altoona and the Piedmonts east of Harrisburg. For centuries the rolling gap separating the mountain chains has served as a corridor between northern and southern Indian nations, William Penn’s charter and the Virginia colony and Union and Confederate armies during the Civil War.

Now, a new type of warfare is raging through those hills and plains. On one side, the Pennsylvania Game Commission and many of the state’s hunters are losing a war of attrition against a serious deer disease they say has entered free-ranging populations from commercial deer farms in the region. On the other side, deer farmers claim to be economic victims in the war against chronic wasting disease, a little-understood and always-fatal sickness that is killing fenced and free-ranging deer throughout the ridge and valley.

“This is serious. We all know that,” said Jarrid Barry, a Blair County deer farmer and president of the Pennsylvania Deer Farmers Association. Two weeks ago Barry testified before the state House Game and Fisheries Committee on the spread of chronic wasting disease. “We’re frustrated because we’re getting blamed for this. It’s put some of us out of business even though the mapping shows just the opposite — it’s in the wild deer and our deer are getting it inside the fence.”

Originally found on a deer research facility in Colorado in 1969, CWD is a transmissible neurological disorder of deer and similar animals. It carves sponge-like holes in the brains of its victims, similar to mad cow disease in cattle and scrapie in sheep. Not caused by a parasite, bacteria or virus, CWD is the result of an oddly folded protein, or prion, that is resistant to an enzyme that breaks down proteins and peptides. The resistance is transferred when a prion touches a healthy protein.

Chronic wasting disease is completely undetectable in live deer for up to a year before it inevitably causes loss of body condition, disorientation, behavioral abnormalities and death. It is not known how long the prions remain viable, but they’ve been found to be infective for at least a decade after being passed onto the ground by a diseased animal, and can survive tremendously high temperatures. Despite longtime scientific consensus to the contrary, recent research suggests CWD may be transferable to humans who eat the malformed protein.

The disease has been confirmed in 24 states. Since it was detected on an Adams County deer farm in 2012, the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, which regulates the deer farming industry, has counted 46 captive deer that tested positive. Those farms were closed by the department, and any farm linked by deer exchanges were subject to quarantine until proven safe. Among free-ranging deer in Pennsylvania, chronic wasting disease recently crossed a transmission threshold, jumping from a total of 25 cases in 2016 to 125 confirmed positives this year. The Game Commission established four disease management areas around those locations (one has been eliminated), where special hunting and deer-handling regulations attempt to control the export of high-risk parts that harbor greater concentrations of prions.

In 2017 the Game Commission’s CWD pointman Wayne Laroche toured the state with a stop in Monroeville. Researchers, he said, have found spotty distribution of CWD in wild deer from the Rocky Mountains to southcentral Pennsylvania, suggesting the disease is radiating out from hotspots near deer farming facilities. Laroche’s presentation included a map showing the locations of CWD cases in the proximity of some of the state’s 860 deer farms, many clustered in the ridge and valley region surrounding Barry’s Powder Ridge Whiltetail Deer Farm.

“I’ve seen that map,” said Barry, during a recent tour of his 30-acre deer breeding facility. “It shows the disease moving up from counties in West Virginia where they’ve had more than 300 cases of CWD in wild deer since 2005, but no cases in deer farms. Up from Maryland where they’ve had about 30 cases of CWD in free-ranging deer and none in farm deer. When you see [on the map] 125 positives in Pennsylvania and 46 in fenced deer facilities, I don’t know how you look at Wayne’s map and see the disease coming out of deer farms.

Barry’s medium-size family-owned facility started with three bred does in 2007. Now, his 150 deer are raised primarily for sales to hunting preserves and stud service. Through selective breeding, he said, his 3- to 4-year-old bucks grow racks averaging 105 to 120 inches.

Some 3,500 jobs and $103 million in commerce are generated by Pennsylvania deer farms. Those that exchange deer within the state only are required by the Agriculture Department to be enrolled in a herd monitoring program in which CWD testing is performed on 50 percent of their deer that die at more than 1 year of age. Farms that move deer across state lines must have post-mortem CWD tests are performed on every deer that is at least a year old at death. In addition, deer farms involved in interstate commerce are subject to an intensive inventory process and hands on inspections of all deer by independent contractors every three years. Two forms of ID must be placed on every animal, and farms must comply with herd certification program protocols for at least five years before moving an animal out of state.

“Every deer that has tested positive in a captive farm in Pennsylvania was born in Pennsylvania,” said Barry. “There hasn’t been one animal shipped into our state that has tested positive for the disease. So get rid of that idea that we brought it in through an animal shipment, because there’s no evidence to support that.”

He admits it’s more difficult to monitor free-ranging deer, but more could be done, he said, to control the spread of CWD. Barry suspects that one of the main vectors for the disease may be successful hunters who carelessly discard carcasses of infected deer that were killed before showing signs of the CWD.

“Last year was the most mortalities [the Game Commission] ever tested and it was around 2 percent — 8,000 deer out of 300,000 deer shot,” said Barry. “When they find a case, how long was [the disease] there before they found it? Compare that with, behind fences last year in Pennsylvania, 65 percent of all the deer that died were tested for CWD.”

Barry’s enclosure exceeds the requirements of state law with an electric fence and two high fences separated by 8 feet, and his deer are certified for interstate sale. Nevertheless, five years after opening, a wild-deer disease management area was established that coincidentally encompasses the farm. Powder Ridge Whitetails has never had a case of CWD, he said, but special regulations prohibit him from selling his product out of state.

“My business is down, I have to get rid of some of my does,” he said. “To tell you the truth, I’m scared to death. I love deer, but I have deer outside my fences every day that potentially have the disease. One positive and my family business is out of business.”

John Hayes: jhayes@post-gazette.com

PA GAME COMMISSION EXPANDS CWD RULES

Pennsylvanians who harvest deer anywhere in New York, Ohio, Maryland or West Virginia no longer may bring them home without first removing the carcass parts with the highest risk of transmitting chronic wasting disease (CWD).

As part of the fight to slow the spread of CWD in the Commonwealth, the Pennsylvania Game Commission has updated its executive order prohibiting the importation of high-risk deer parts into Pennsylvania.

While the order has always prohibited whole deer from being brought into Pennsylvania from most U.S. states and Canadian provinces where CWD exists, it previously permitted deer harvested in New York, Ohio, Maryland or West Virginia to be brought in, so long as the deer weren’t reported to have been harvested in any county where CWD has been detected.

The updated order gives Pennsylvania’s free-ranging deer better protection, said Game Commission Executive Director Bryan Burhans.

“The previous rules didn’t provide assurance that deer harvested in CWD-positive counties within New York, Ohio, Maryland or West Virginia weren’t making their way into the Commonwealth,” Burhans said. “While the order prohibited the high-risk parts of those deer from being imported into Pennsylvania, enforcement was difficult for many reasons.

“As we’ve seen in Pennsylvania, just because CWD appears confined to a specific area, doesn’t mean it won’t turn up somewhere completely new, miles away,” Burhans said. “Tightening up this order puts teeth in the Game Commission’s ability to enforce it, allowing us to better protect our deer and elk from CWD.”

Now that the updated order has taken effect, there are a total of 24 states and two Canadian provinces from which high-risk cervid parts cannot be imported into Pennsylvania.

The parts ban affects hunters who harvest deer, elk, moose, mule deer and other cervids in: Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming; as well as the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan.

Those harvesting cervids in the identified states and provinces must leave behind the carcass parts that have the highest risk for transmitting CWD. Those parts are: the head (including brain, tonsils, eyes and any lymph nodes); spinal cord/backbone; spleen; skull plate with attached antlers, if visible brain or spinal cord tissue is present; cape, if visible brain or spinal cord tissue is present; upper canine teeth, if root structure or other soft tissue is present; any object or article containing visible brain or spinal cord tissue; unfinished taxidermy mounts; and brain-tanned hides.

Hunters who are successful in those states and provinces from which the importation of high-risk parts into Pennsylvania is banned are allowed to import meat from any deer, elk, moose, mule deer or caribou, so long as the backbone is not present.

Successful hunters also are allowed to bring back cleaned skull plates with attached antlers, if no visible brain or spinal cord tissue is present; tanned hide or raw hide with no visible brain or spinal cord tissue present; capes, if no visible brain or spinal cord tissue is present; upper canine teeth, if no root structure or other soft tissue is present; and finished taxidermy mounts.

Pennsylvania first detected chronic wasting disease in 2012 at a captive deer facility in Adams County. The disease has since been detected in free-ranging and captive deer in parts of southcentral and northcentral Pennsylvania. To date, 104 free-ranging CWD-positive deer have been detected in Pennsylvania.

The Game Commission in late February also established its fourth Disease Management Area, DMA 4, in Lancaster, Lebanon and Berks counties in response to CWD turning up at a captive deer facility in Lancaster County.

Burhans said hunters who harvest deer, elk or moose in a state or province where CWD is known to exist should follow instructions from that state’s wildlife agency on how and where to submit the appropriate samples to have their animal tested. If, after returning to Pennsylvania, a hunter is notified that his or her harvest tested positive for CWD, the hunter is encouraged to immediately contact the Game Commission region office that serves the county in which they reside for disposal recommendations and assistance.

A list of region offices and contact information can be found at www.pgc.pa.gov by scrolling to the bottom of any page to select the “Connect with Us” tab.

First identified in 1967, CWD affects members of the cervid family, including all species of deer, elk and moose. To date, there have been no reported cases of CWD infection in people, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). But the disease is always fatal to the cervids it infects.

As a precaution, CDC recommends people avoid eating meat from deer and elk that look sick or that test positive for CWD.

More information on CWD can be found at CDC’s website, www.cdc.gov.

There currently is no practical way to test live animals for CWD, nor is there a vaccine. Clinical signs of CWD include poor posture, lowered head and ears, uncoordinated movement, rough-hair coat, weight loss, increased thirst, excessive drooling, and, ultimately, death.

Much more information on CWD, as well as a video showing hunters how they can process venison for transport and consumption, is available at the Game Commission’s website.

CWD TEST RESULTS CONTINUE TO COME IN -Over 50 Deer Tested Positive This Year So Far

HARRISBURG, PA - Pennsylvania’s statewide deer seasons have come to a close, and

within the next several weeks, final chronic wasting disease test results will return from deer harvested by hunters in the 2017-18 seasons.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission collects samples from deer harvested across the state and tests them for chronic wasting disease (CWD), as part of the agency’s ongoing CWD surveillance.

Within the state’s Disease Management Areas – where the disease has been detected in captive and free-ranging deer – intensified sampling occurs.

This past hunting season, the Game Commission offered free CWD testing for hunters harvesting deer within Disease Management Areas (DMAs). Free testing offered hunters a way to have their deer tested prior to consuming it, and it provided the Game Commission with additional samples to better pinpoint areas where the disease exists, so specific problem spots might be addressed.

Successful hunters within DMAs dropped off heads from more than 1,500 deer in the boxes. About 1,000 of these samples already have been tested for CWD, with the results reported to hunters.

Additionally, Game Commission staff collected more than 3,000 other samples within DMAs to test for CWD. In total, nearly 8,000 samples were collected statewide. Slightly more than 5,700 whitetails were tested for CWD in 2016; 25 tested positive, all were in or near DMA 2, the only area of the state where CWD has been detected in the wild.

At this time, 51 deer from the 2017-18 hunting seasons have tested positive for CWD. All have been within the DMAs. Forty-eight were within DMA 2, in southcentral Pennsylvania; and three were within DMA 3 in northcentral Pennsylvania.

But the majority of samples collected still are being analyzed.

Wayne Laroche, the Game Commission’s special assistant for CWD response, said the agency will continue to assess the incoming test results to evaluate the best response to confront CWD where it exists. DMA boundaries regularly have been adjusted in relation to newly detected CWD-positive animals. And last year, the Game Commission teamed with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's APHIS's Wildlife Services on a CWD surveillance effort where 30 deer were removed by sharpshooters and one CWD-positive deer was detected.

“By developing a control program where we go into these hotspots and remove the animals with a greater likelihood of carrying the disease, we might stand our best chance of controlling CWD on a larger scale, while minimizing the impact on the larger deer population or diminishing deer hunting opportunities,” Laroche said.

CWD is not a new disease, and other states have decades of experience dealing with CWD in the wild. It first was detected in Pennsylvania in 2012 at a captive deer facility, and it was detected in free-ranging deer soon after. To date in Pennsylvania, CWD has been detected in 98 free-ranging deer.

CWD is spread from deer to deer through direct and indirect contact. The disease attacks the brains of infected deer, elk and moose, and will eventually result in the death of the infected animal. There is no live test for CWD and no known cure. There also is no evidence CWD can be transmitted to humans, however, it is recommended the meat of infected deer – or deer thought to be sick – not be consumed.

For more information on CWD, the rules applying within DMAs or what hunters can do to have harvested deer tested for CWD, visit the Game Commission’s website, www.pgc.state.pa.us. Information can be found by clicking on the button titled “CWD Information” near the top of the homepage.

Final CWD test results from the 2017-18 deer seasons will be released when available

CWD FOUND IN THE WILD IN CLEARFIELD COUNTY

HARRISBURG, PA - Chronic wasting disease has spread to free-ranging deer in an area of the state where it previously had been detected only in captive deer.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission today announced a free-ranging whitetail buck in Bell Township, Clearfield County, has tested positive for chronic wasting disease (CWD).

A news conference about the new CWD-positive deer and the Game Commission’s response will be held on Thursday, July 13, at noon at the Game Commission’s Harrisburg headquarters. The news conference will be available to view on the Game Commission’s social media pages.

The CWD-positive buck was shot by a wildlife conservation officer June 7 on State Game Lands 87 because it showed signs of being diseased. Preliminary tests indicated the buck was CWD-positive, and the final results confirm the buck was infected with CWD, which always is fatal to deer and elk.

The buck was within Disease Management Area 3 (DMA 3), which was established in 2014 after surveillance by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture detected CWD at two captive deer facilities in Jefferson County.

Because this buck was located near the center of the 350-square-mile DMA 3, the DMA will not need to expand.

However, the Game Commission is immediately taking steps to increase CWD surveillance within DMA 3.

The Game Commission will be allocating Deer Management Assistance Program permits within DMA 3. Each hunter can purchase up to two of the 2,800 DMAP permits anywhere hunting licenses are sold by requesting permits for Unit 3045.

The permits will become available very soon, likely by July 13.

These DMAP permits can be used to take antlerless deer on public and private lands within DMA 3 during any established deer season. Hunters must acquire permission from private landowners prior to hunting.

Harvest data from DMAP permits will augment CWD surveillance.

All known road-killed deer within DMA 3, and a portion of the deer harvested by hunters, already are tested each year for the disease. The Game Commission is looking to increase this sampling effort and obtain more-precise harvest-location information. Cooperation from hunters will be an important first step to make this happen.

The Game Commission also plans to use sharpshooters in DMA 3, in a small, focal area where the CWD-positive deer was found, in hopes of stopping the disease before it has a chance to grow and spread.

In Pennsylvania, CWD has been an increasing threat. The disease also exists among wild deer in the area of southcentral Pennsylvania defined as Disease Management Area 2. Twenty-five free-ranging deer tested positive for CWD during 2016. And an additional four CWD-positive deer have been detected since, raising to 51 the total of CWD-positives detected within the DMA 2 since 2012.

While the spread of CWD within Pennsylvania is a concern statewide and a threat to the state’s deer and its deer-hunting tradition, this latest CWD-positive within DMA 3 is a concern also because of its proximity to Pennsylvania’s elk range, which abuts DMA 3. More than 100 elk are tested for CWD each year and, thus far, the disease has not been detected among the state’s elk.

“There is no vaccine to prevent deer or elk from contracting CWD, and there’s no treatment to cure infected animals,” said Game Commission wildlife-management director Wayne Laroche. “However, if we can remove the infected animals from this area so they are no longer coming in contact with healthy deer or shedding the prion that causes the disease, we may be able to slow its spread and minimize its effects on deer and elk, and the people who enjoy them.

“It’s important our response is as effective and efficient as possible to attempt to curtail this disease before it becomes well-established in an area where it not only is a threat to our deer, but also our elk,” Laroche said.

While CWD poses a serious threat to Pennsylvania’s deer and elk, there is no strong evidence it can be transmitted to humans. As a precaution, however, hunters are advised not to eat the meat from animals known to be infected with CWD, or believed to be diseased.

There already is a prohibition on removing the high-risk parts of harvested deer from any DMA. Hunters who harvest deer and take it to a meat processor or taxidermist within a DMA are making certain that deer are available to the Game Commission for CWD surveillance.

Laroche said cooperating deer hunters within DMA 3 will play a key role in the CWD surveillance to take place there. If the harvest locations of sampled deer are known, it will be possible to more precisely target management actions, he said.

It doesn’t cost anything to drop deer heads off for sampling, and if a sample tests positive, the hunter will be notified.

Game Commission Executive Director Bryan Burhans said it’s important to respond quickly and directly to the serious threat CWD represents. Response measures in areas where CWD is known to be present improve the chances of limiting the disease to a few areas as opposed to many, he said.

“For the sake of our deer and elk, and their importance to hunters and nonhunters alike, we must do all we can to control this threat in the Commonwealth,” Burhans said.

ADDITIONAL CWD CASES DETECTED IN PENNSYLVANIA WILD DEER

HARRISBURG, PA - The Pennsylvania Game Commission tested 5,707 deer and 110 elk for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) during 2016.
Twenty-five wild deer tested positive for CWD. All of the wild CWD-positive deer were in or near Disease Management Area 2 (DMA 2), the only area of the state where CWD has been detected in the wild. These 25 deer more than doubled the number of CWD-positive deer detected in DMA 2 from 2012 to 2015.

Through 2016, 47 wild deer have tested positive for CWD in DMA 2.

Each year, the Game Commission collects CWD samples from hunter-harvested animals, road-kills, escaped captive cervids, and any cervid showing signs of CWD.

Since 2002, the Game Commission has tested over 61,000 deer for CWD. Although samples are collected from across the state, efforts were increased within the three Disease Management Areas (DMAs), which are areas in the state where CWD has been identified in wild and/or captive deer. These include: DMA 1 in parts of Adams and York counties in which CWD was identified on a captive deer farm in 2012; DMA 2 in parts of Bedford, Blair, Somerset, Fulton, Cambria, and Huntingdon counties where CWD has been identified in multiple wild deer since 2012 and recently on three captive deer facilities; and DMA 3 in Jefferson and Clearfield counties where CWD was detected on two captive deer facilities in 2014.

The 25 new CWD-positive wild deer were part of 1,652 deer samples collected within DMA 2 during 2016. CWD-positive deer included 13 road-killed deer, 10 hunter-harvested deer, and two deer showing signs consistent with CWD.

No CWD positive wild deer were detected in DMA 1, DMA 3, or the remainder of the state in 2016 or in any previous year.

During late 2016 and early 2017, CWD also was identified on three captive deer farms in the southcentral part of the state in Bedford, Fulton, and Franklin counties. These are the first detections of CWD-positive captive deer within DMA 2. Additional information on these recent positives in captive cervids and the CWD surveillance and response program in captive deer can be found through the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.

As a result of new detections in wild deer and cervid captive facilities, DMA 2 boundaries will be expanded, though the changes are not yet final. The eastward expansion will include the area around the captive facility in Franklin County where a CWD-positive deer was detected.

Within DMAs, special regulations are in place to reduce the risk of CWD spreading to other areas. These regulations include restrictions on transporting deer carcasses, feeding deer, and use of urine-based deer lures.

CWD not only is a threat to Pennsylvania’s deer, but also the elk herd; however, no positives have been detected in our elk herd to date. During 2016, 110 wild elk were tested for CWD, including hunter-harvested animals and elk exhibiting clinical signs consistent with CWD.

More Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) Found in PA

HARRISBURG, PA - The Pennsylvania Game Commission, Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (PDA) and U.S. Department of Agriculture-Wildlife Services (USDA-WS) recently combined on an effort to further test wild deer for chronic wasting disease (CWD) near a site that recently sold a captive deer that, at its new location, later was determined to be CWD-positive.

Several neighboring landowners in Fulton County gave permission for USDA-WS biologists, with extensive expertise in targeted deer removal, to take 30 wild deer for CWD testing.

The Game Commission oversaw the effort and worked jointly with PDA and USDA-WS to collect biological samples. Deer were taken on March 22 and 23, and samples were submitted to the PDA Veterinary Services Laboratory for testing.

CWD was not detected in 29 deer. The meat from those deer was provided to families in need. However, CWD was detected in one deer, and results from follow-up tests on this deer came back Wednesday, confirming the deer was CWD positive.

Wayne Laroche, director of the Game Commission’s Bureau of Wildlife Management, said the positive test from this sample size increases concern that more CWD-positive deer might be present in the immediate area where the deer was taken. Based on this evidence, the Game Commission will increase CWD sampling of road-killed and hunter-harvested deer in this area to learn more about the magnitude and distribution of the disease. The agency will work with landowners and hunters in this area to ensure that enough deer are tested.

No other shooting initiatives to collect additional samples for CWD testing are planned at this time. The Game Commission actively is developing a CWD research-and-control program. For any disease-control program to be effective, some deer will have to be killed. The key will be finding ways to “surgically remove” pockets of infected deer rather than trying to drastically decrease deer numbers.

Laroche said the recent initiative demonstrated concern within the community and the willingness of the residents to cooperate with efforts to solve this problem.

“The landowners who participated understand the seriousness of CWD,” Laroche said. “Their cooperation was key to this surveillance effort, and while there’s no easy solution to the CWD problem, the Game Commission intends to launch control and research efforts in an attempt to slow the increase and spread of the disease within Pennsylvania.”

CWD is a fatal disease that affects deer and elk. The disease is spread through direct deer-to-deer contact and ingestion of CWD prions from contaminated environments. The CWD prion mostly is concentrated in the brain, spinal cord and nervous tissue, but is present throughout an infected deer’s body including its bodily fluids. It remains infectious in soil for many years.

There is no practical method to test living deer for CWD.

At present, CWD has been detected among wild deer in southcentral Pennsylvania, as well as deer at several captive cervid facilities around the state.

As the number of free-ranging deer infected with CWD increases, the potential for CWD to spread throughout the Commonwealth rises. Ultimately, this will be detrimental to deer populations everywhere and will affect the ability of Pennsylvanians to enjoy deer viewing and hunting in the future if the disease goes unchecked.

Development and implementation of effective control measures now, rather than later, will provide the Game Commission with the best opportunity to slow, and possibly contain, the spread of CWD in Pennsylvania.

Each year, samples from more than 5,500 hunter-harvested deer, road-killed deer and any deer exhibiting signs of sickness are tested to provide statewide surveillance for CWD.

Twenty-five new CWD cases were found in free-ranging deer during 2016, bringing the total number of cases in wild, free-ranging Pennsylvania deer to 47, all since 2012.

Testing of hunter-harvested deer from 2016 is not complete, so additional positives might turn up. CWD-positive deer also were detected in recent months at captive deer facilities in Franklin and Bedford counties.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission is responsible for managing all of the Commonwealth’s mammals and birds for current and future generations. Maintaining a healthy deer herd is critical to this mission.

TWELVE MORE CASES OF CWD IN PENNSYLVANIA: STATE GEARS UP FOR ADDITIONAL CONTROL MEASURES

HARRISBURG, PA - The Pennsylvania Game Commission during 2015 found 12 additional white-tailed deer infected with chronic wasting disease (CWD) – all in Disease Management Area 2 (DMA 2), located in southcentral Pennsylvania.

DMA 2 is the only area of the state where CWD has been detected in free-ranging deer.

The latest cases bring to 22 the total number of free-ranging deer found with CWD within DMA 2 since 2012. This is the highest number of cases to be found in a single year, and more than doubles the total number of CWD-positive deer found in the wild in Pennsylvania.

These new cases have resulted in changes to DMA 2’s boundaries, increasing the size of the DMA by more than 437 square miles. A map showing the latest expansion to DMA 2 has been posted online at www.pgc.pa.gov and will be included in the 2016-17 Pennsylvania Hunting & Trapping Digest that’s issued to hunters at the time the buy their licenses. However, hunters are reminded that future CWD cases could further impact DMA 2’s boundary, and the most up-to-date maps always can be found at the Game Commission’s website.

Special rules regarding the hunting, transport and feeding of wild deer apply within all DMAs, and are detailed in full online.

One of the new cases was found in a deer harvested by a hunter. It serves as an example of why hunters need to be taking the DMA restrictions seriously. The hunter in the case transported a buck that later tested positive for CWD from DMA 2 to a deer processor far outside of the DMA, and the high-risk parts went to a rendering plant.

Transporting a deer out of the DMA is illegal. By leaving behind those parts with the highest-risk of transmitting CWD to other deer, hunters limit the chances the disease will spread to new areas of the state. The hunter in this case, which has been adjudicated, also failed to report the deer as required by law.

Hunters need to be taking CWD seriously. To do otherwise, risks spreading the disease to deer and elk in other parts of Pennsylvania. In the early stages of infection, CWD tends to spread and increase very slowly in wild deer populations. This might cause hunters to have a false sense of security, and take the presence of the disease lightly.

In some areas of Wyoming and Wisconsin, more than 40 percent of deer and elk tested have been positive for CWD. Arkansas first reported a CWD-positive elk on Feb. 23. Follow-up sampling since then has found an additional 81 positive animals, and 23 percent of the deer and elk samples from the infected area of northern Arkansas tested positive. It is thought that CWD might have been present, but gone undetected in Arkansas for as long as 10 years.

“This is the one disease that has the potential to drastically change deer hunting as we know it,” said Game Commission Wildlife Management Director Wayne Laroche.

Statewide, a total of 5,645 road-killed, hunter-harvested and suspected infected deer were tested for CWD in Pennsylvania during 2015. The Game Commission stepped up sampling efforts within DMA 2 during 2015 in an attempt to enhance monitoring efforts and to estimate a prevalence level of CWD within townships representing the core area of infection within DMA 2. A total of 1,602 samples were collected from deer within DMA 2. Twelve, or 0.75 percent of these, tested CWD positive.

The good news is the prevalence level of CWD within DMA2 seems to remain at a relatively low level. But, unless additional control measures are implemented, the infection rate is certain to increase.

The Game Commission for the 2016-17 seasons has allocated 14,500 DMA 2 Antlerless Deer Permits, in addition to antlerless licenses allocated for the WMUs partially within DMA 2. The permits must be purchased online or through mail-in application, and they go on sale at the same time antlerless licenses, July 11. More information on DMA 2 Permits can be found on the CWD page of the Game Commission’s website.

However, controlling total deer numbers only seems to slow the spread of the disease.

Wisconsin’s experience clearly demonstrates that controlling total deer numbers alone will not stop the disease from increasing. Illinois, which has employed a targeted deer-removal strategy at locations where positive animals have been found, has managed to hold prevalence at a low level since finding CWD in 2002. Targeted removal in areas where the disease is most prevalent is a more surgical strategy to limiting the spread of CWD.

Along with Illinois, Wisconsin also found CWD in 2002. Wisconsin began with an aggressive population-reduction strategy until being shut down by public pressure. While it is believed that the prevalence level in Illinois now remains at near 1 percent in the infected area, Wisconsin’s prevalence rate reportedly has climbed to 9.4 percent.

Like Illinois, Wisconsin now is considering the use of a targeted-removal method.

The Game Commission hopes to act sooner rather than later to put in place active control measures to stop the spread and growth of the disease within the Commonwealth. These measures may involve targeted removal of deer at locations where CWD-positive animals have been found. Discussion and planning are currently underway; details will provided once the planning process is further along.

“One thing we know is we will not be successful without the support of deer hunters and the general public,” Laroche said. “If we fail to develop and implement an effective control program, we risk the future of deer hunting along with all of the social and economic benefits that wild white-tailed deer and elk provide to the people of Pennsylvania.”

It has been estimated that deer hunting alone adds more than $1 billion a year to Pennsylvania’s economy. The tradition and social value that whitetails and elk provide to Pennsylvanians is incalculable.

PA CWD RULES EXPAND

High-risk deer parts no longer can be imported from Ohio, Maryland, New York, Virginia or West Virginia.
 

          Pennsylvanians who hunt deer, elk or other cervids out-of-state might be affected by newly updated rules that prohibit the importation of specific high-risk cervid parts into Pennsylvania from states and provinces where chronic wasting disease has been detected.
          Ohio has been added to the list of states from which high-risk cervid parts – including the head and backbone – cannot be imported into Pennsylvania. The addition is in response to chronic wasting disease (CWD) being detected in Ohio for the first time in 2014.
          Additionally, the import of high-risk cervid parts into Pennsylvania from the entire states of Maryland, New York, Virginia and West Virginia is now prohibited.
          Previously, the prohibition applied only to portions of those states in which CWD had been identified in captive or wild cervids.
          Pennsylvania Game Commission Executive Director R. Matthew Hough said the updated rules better protect Pennsylvania from high-risk parts that might come from out-of-state harvests.
          Managing CWD to protect Pennsylvania’s deer and elk requires changes based on changing circumstances, Hough said. The boundaries of Disease Management Areas within Pennsylvania are adjusted in response to new cases of CWD. And the prohibition on importing high-risk cervid parts is extended to other states as cases are identified there.
          Hough said applying the importation ban to all of Maryland, New York, Virginia and West Virginia is a necessary change, explaining the partial bans previously in place were difficult to enforce.
          “The ban on the importation of high-risk cervid parts exists to provide the best protection possible to Pennsylvania’s deer and elk, and hunters can help us prevent CWD from spreading,” Hough said. “We understand that Pennsylvania hunters, and especially those who live near the state’s borders, frequently travel across state lines to hunt deer or other cervids. This expanded ban will inconvenience them, just as successful hunters traveling out of Pennsylvania’s Disease Management Areas are inconvenienced.
          “The introduction and spread of CWD in our wild-deer population is a serious issue,” Hough said. “The consequences of spreading CWD has potential to jeopardize the future of deer hunting in Pennsylvania. We need your help to minimize the impacts of CWD in our state.”
          Now that the updated order has taken effect, there are a total of 22 states and two Canadian provinces from which high-risk cervid parts cannot be imported into Pennsylvania.
          The parts ban affects hunters who harvest deer, elk, moose, mule deer and other cervids in: Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming; as well as the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan.
          Those harvesting cervids in the identified states and provinces must leave behind the carcass parts that have the highest risk for transmitting CWD. Those parts are: the head (including brain, tonsils, eyes and any lymph nodes); spinal cord/backbone; spleen; skull plate with attached antlers, if visible brain or spinal cord tissue is present; cape, if visible brain or spinal cord tissue is present; upper canine teeth, if root structure or other soft tissue is present; any object or article containing visible brain or spinal cord tissue; unfinished taxidermy mounts; and brain-tanned hides.
          Hunters who are successful in those states and provinces from which the importation of high-risk parts into Pennsylvania is banned are allowed to import meat from any deer, elk, moose, mule deer or caribou, so long as the backbone is not present.          Successful hunters also are allowed to bring back cleaned skull plates with attached antlers, if no visible brain or spinal cord tissue is present; tanned hide or raw hide with no visible brain or spinal cord tissue present; capes, if no visible brain or spinal cord tissue is present; upper canine teeth, if no root structure or other soft tissue is present; and finished taxidermy mounts.
          Pennsylvania first detected chronic wasting disease in 2012 at a captive deer facility in Adams County. The disease has since been detected in free-ranging deer in Bedford, Blair, Cambria and Fulton counties, and in captive deer at a Jefferson County facility.
          In response to these CWD cases, the Game Commission has established three Disease Management Areas (DMAs) within which special rules apply. For instance, those who harvest deer within a DMA are not allowed to transport any high-risk deer parts outside the DMA.
          Hough said hunters who harvest a deer, elk or moose in a state or province where CWD is known to exist should follow instructions from that state’s wildlife agency on how and where to submit the appropriate samples to have their animal tested.  If, after returning to Pennsylvania, a hunter is notified that his or her game tested positive for CWD, the hunter is encouraged to immediately contact the Game Commission region office that serves the county in which they reside for disposal recommendations and assistance.
          A list of region offices and contact information appears on page 5 of the 2015-16 Pennsylvania Hunting & Trapping Digest, which is issued to hunters at the time they buy their Pennsylvania hunting licenses. The contact information also is available on the agency’s website (www.pgc.state.pa.us) by putting your cursor on “About Us” in the menu bar under the banner, then selecting “Regional Information” in the drop-down menu and then clicking on the region of choice in the map.
          First identified in 1967, CWD affects members of the cervid family, including all species of deer, elk and moose. To date, no strong evidence of CWD transmission to humans has been reported, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). But the disease is always fatal to the cervids it infects.
          As a precaution, CDC recommends people avoid eating meat from deer and elk that look sick or that test positive for CWD.
          More information on CWD can be found at CDC’s website, www.cdc.gov.
          There currently is no practical way to test live animals for CWD, nor is there a vaccine. Clinical signs include poor posture, lowered head and ears, uncoordinated movement, rough-hair coat, weight loss, increased thirst, excessive drooling, and, ultimately, death.
          Much more information on CWD, as well as a video showing hunters how they can process venison for transport and consumption, is available at the Game Commission’s website. 
Pennsylvania’s DMAs          Within Pennsylvania, there are three separate Disease Management Areas (DMAs) within which special rules apply.
          DMA 1 comprises about 600 square miles in Adams and York counties; DMA 2 recently was expanded and now encompasses more than 2,400 square miles in Blair, Bedford, Cambria, Huntingdon and Fulton counties; and DMA 3 covers about 350 square miles in Jefferson and Clearfield counties. 
          Those harvesting deer within a DMA are not permitted to transport outside the DMA any deer parts with a high risk of transmitting CWD. These parts include the head and backbone.
          The intentional feeding of deer also is prohibited within any DMA, as is the use or possession of urine-based deer attractants in any outdoor setting.
          Maps of each of the DMAs, and detailed descriptions of DMA borders, can be found at the Game Commission’s website, www.pgc.state.pa.us. The website also contains a complete list of the rules applying within DMAs, as well as a full definition of high-risk parts. 
CWD precautionsWildlife officials have suggested hunters in areas where chronic wasting disease (CWD) is known to exist follow these usual recommendations to prevent the possible spread of disease:          - Do not shoot, handle or consume any animal that appears sick; contact the state wildlife agency if you see or harvest an animal that appears sick.          - Wear rubber or latex gloves when field-dressing carcasses.          - Bone out the meat from your animal.          - Minimize the handling of brain and spinal tissues.          - Wash hands and instruments thoroughly after field-dressing is completed.          - Request that your animal is processed individually, without meat from other animals being added to meat from your animal, or process your own meat if you have the tools and ability to do so.          - Have your animal processed in the area of the state where it was harvested, so that high-risk body parts can be properly disposed of there. Only bring permitted materials back to Pennsylvania.          -  Don’t consume the brain, spinal cord, eyes, spleen, tonsils or lymph nodes of harvested animals. (Normal field-dressing, coupled with boning out a carcass, will remove most, if not all, of these body parts. Cutting away all fatty tissue will help remove remaining lymph nodes.)          - Follow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations and avoid eating meat from any animal that looks sick or tests positive for the disease.