Michigan’s Department of Natural Resources announced on October 2nd, 2017, they have discovered another whitetail deer which they believe has Chronic Wasting Disease, or CWD.  A preliminary field test at a game check station indicated a high probability the deer, turned in for examination by a youth hunter, suffered from CWD.  The animal has been sent to Michigan State University for a more in-depth analysis.  If the deer is confirmed with CWD, it becomes the tenth animal to test positive in Michigan and means the affliction has begun to spread throughout the state’s whitetail population.

While most authorities believe CWD, which is related to “Mad Cow” disease, is not transmittable to humans, hunters who take animals in known CWD areas must take precautions when dressing and butchering them.  CWD is thought to have been released into the wild several decades ago in Colorado where it has decimated deer and elk populations.  It has since spread into the Midwestern and Southeastern U.S.

For more information on this latest incident, contact the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

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