Officials with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources have scheduled a public meeting in Breckinridge County, in order to discuss Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD).
The meeting comes in response to recent confirmation of CWD in a deceased deer from a captive cervid facility in Breckinridge County, marking Kentucky’s first detection of the disease in a captive deer.
It will be from 6:30 until 8:30 PM Thursday, November 7, at Breckinridge County High School, which is located at 2019 East Highway 60 in Harned.
KFW staff will share insights on CWD, including updates on the collaborative agency and partner response, new hunting regulations in the area, and available CWD testing options. Attendees will also have the chance to ask questions from agency experts after the main discussion.
Chronic Wasting Disease is caused by abnormal proteins called prions and it affects white-tailed deer, elk, and other animals in the deer family. There is no known cure or vaccine, and the disease is always fatal in infected animals.
The disease is not known to be transmissible to people, but as a precaution, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends not eating the meat from deer that test positive for the disease.
And officials from Kentucky Fish and Wildlife always recommend not consuming meat taken from animals that appear to be sick or in poor condition.
Hunters can help Kentucky Fish and Wildlife’s statewide monitoring efforts by dropping off the heads of legally harvested and telechecked deer for CWD testing and aging at self-serve CWD Sample Drop-Off sites or using CWD Sample Mail-in Kits to submit lymph node samples — both offered at no cost. Hunters will be notified if a deer they harvested tests positive for CWD.
Deer that appear to be sick but do not have an obvious injury can be reported using the department’s sick deer online reporting form; reports will be reviewed by the agency’s wildlife health program staff, who will contact the person who submitted the report if additional information is needed.
