Chronic wasting disease detected in Medina County buck

Disease detected in hunter-harvested 1-year-old white-tailed buck

MEDINA COUNTY, Texas – The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department said the first case of chronic wasting disease, or CWD, has been detected in a hunter-harvested 1-year-old white-tailed buck in Medina County.

TPWD and the Texas Animal Health Commission said they are taking steps to deploy early detection and containment strategy to limit the spread of CWD and better understand the disease.

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“Although the disease has been discovered in a free-ranging whitetail in this area, we cannot draw any conclusions at this time based on one detection,” said Dr. Bob Dittmar, TPWD’s wildlife veterinarian. “The proactive measures we are taking as part of our epidemiological investigation into this case are in line with the state’s strategies to prevent this disease from spreading any further."

A Surveillance Zone 3, which spans across portions of Bandera, Medina and Uvalde counties, is effective immediately, making it a CWD containment  zone. The associated rules restrict the movements of carcass parts as well as live deer possessed under the authority of a permit. TWPD is also implementing mandatory CWD testing of hunter-harvested deer within the zone.

“This emergency action allows us to contain the threat of this disease spreading any further while we collect more information and gather more data,” said T. Dan Friedkin, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission chairman. “Not only are these temporary emergency measures necessary and consistent with the state’s planned strategies for CWD management, they are essential for ensuring the protection of the state’s whitetail deer herd and the integrity of our hunting heritage."

Officials said that as of Wednesday, the department has received about 720 samples of hunter harvests and road kills within the zone and anticipates receiving about 200 more samples from deer-breeding facilities and associated release sites in SZ3. The department said its sampling goal for SZ3 for the 2016-17 hunting season is 1,749 samples.

“TPWD is very appreciative of the effort and cooperation that has been put forth by landowners, hunters and local officials in the area,” said Carter Smith, the TPWD executive director. “Our ability to control this disease is directly related to the cooperation offered by the citizens of Medina, Bandera and Uvalde counties, and we pledge to continue to work with everyone to minimize the impacts of this disease as well as these challenging but necessary measures designed to control the spread of CWD.”

Click here for more information about CWD.


About the Author:

Dawn Jorgenson, Graham Media Group Branded Content Managing Editor, began working with the group in April 2013. She graduated from Texas State University with a degree in electronic media.