A sample recently collected from a hunter harvested deer in west-central Lauderdale County has been confirmed positive for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). This is the first case of CWD detected in Alabama’s deer herd.
CWD was first detected in west Tennessee and Mississippi in 2018 and has been moving slowly toward Alabama. The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR) implemented multiple proactive regulations to combat the spread into Alabama. Compliance from the public, notably hunters, helped delay the spread into the state for several years.
The sample from the CWD-positive deer was submitted as part of the state’s ongoing CWD surveillance and volunteer testing program.
Due to CWD detection in Lauderdale County, ADCNR has enacted a new regulation for Lauderdale and Colbert counties, as outlined in Alabama’s CWD Surveillance and Response Plan. All of Lauderdale and Colbert counties are designated as a CWD Management Zone (CMZ). The area west of U.S. Highway 43 in Lauderdale County to the Mississippi and Tennessee state lines and south to the Tennessee River is designated as a High-Risk Zone (HRZ). The remainder of Lauderdale County and all of Colbert County is designated as a Buffer Zone.
Within the CMZ, there will be no seasonal or daily bag limit restrictions and no antler restrictions for deer harvested on privately-owned or open-permit public lands in Lauderdale or Colbert counties through the remainder of the 2021-2022 deer season. This also includes the following Wildlife Management Areas (WMA) and Community Hunting Area (CHA), Lauderdale WMA, Freedom Hills WMA, Riverton CHA, and Seven-Mile Island WMA. On those WMAs, hunters will be allowed to harvest any deer daily through February 10, 2022. These changes do not apply to any other county, WMA or CHA in the state.
Hunters are required to submit heads for CWD testing from all deer harvested within the HRZ in Lauderdale County at drop-off freezer locations or at scheduled ADCNR mobile sampling stations. Hunters who harvest deer within the Buffer Zone are highly encouraged to submit heads for sampling at drop-off freezer locations within the CMZ.
It is critical that hunters understand the movement of harvested deer will be limited within the management zone. Deer harvested within the HRZ must remain and be disposed of within the HRZ. Deer harvested within the Buffer Zone must remain and be disposed of within the CMZ. Deboned meat, cleaned skull plates and raw hides with no visible brain or spinal cord tissue may be taken outside of these zones. Transporting deer carcasses out of the management zone can potentially spread CWD to currently unaffected areas.
Hunting license and Game Check requirements remain in effect for all white-tailed deer harvests.
“Now that we have detected CWD in Alabama, our primary objective is to determine the prevalence of the disease in the area affected,” said Chuck Sykes, Director of ADCNR’s Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Division. “The new regulation is intended to increase the opportunities for hunters to supply samples for CWD testing. We need hunters to continue to hunt and submit deer heads for testing. These additional samples will help us better determine the extent of the disease in this area.”
Additional details pertaining to Game Check, the new regulation and guidance on best management practices for transportation, disposal and testing of harvest for each zone can be found at www.outdooralabama.com/cwd-info
About CWD: CWD is a member of the group of diseases called transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). CWD is a progressive, fatal disease that commonly results in altered behavior due to microscopic changes made to the brain of affected animals. An deer may carry the disease for years without outward indication. In latter stages of the disease, signs may include listlessness, lowering of the head, weight loss, repetitive walking in set patterns and a lack of responsiveness.
