Stone County Deer Free of CWD
January 18, 2018
Charlea Estes-Jones
The results of a wide-spread Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) check are in, and Stone County is in the clear for now. None of the deer sampled during opening weekend of deer season in November were found to have CWD, However, statewide, the Missouri Department of Conservation found 15 new cases out of the 18,400 deer tested.
Stone County was one of 25 counties were mandatory CWD testing was done opening weekend. In Stone County, 412 were tested for CWD opening weekend in November, 2017. None of the deer tested were positive for CWD.
Locally, Barry, Taney and Ozark Counties were also tested. The southern counties were tested because of their proximity to CWD found in Arkansas. The decision to make testing mandatory came after CWD was found within 25 miles of the Missouri border.
With all local counties bordering Arkansas coming up clear, at this point, it appears that mandatory sampling will continue to ensure intervention is not necessary in the future. Several hundred deer in northern Arkansas have been found with CWD.
Counties where CWD was found were: Cedar County, one case from a hunter-harvested adult buck; Franklin County, three cases from hunter-harvested adult bucks; Jefferson County, one from a hunter harvested buck; Linn County, four cases from hunter-harvested adult bucks; Macon County, two cases from a hunter-harvested adult buck and a hunter-harvested adult doe; Polk County, one case from a road-killed adult buck; St. Clair County, one case from a hunter-harvested adult buck; and Ste. Genevieve County, two cases from a hunter-harvested adult buck and a hunter-harvested adult doe.
Warren Rose, outreach and education regional supervisor for the Missouri Department of Conservation, said, “Mostly likely we will continue to monitor the counties along the Missouri-Arkansas border. Odds are, we’ll test those counties again next season. I’m not sure what that will look like at this point. We’ll probably test through mandatory sampling, taxidermy stations and road kill as well as any deer that look ill.”
The feeding ban in place for Stone County will remain for the foreseeable future.
Rose added, “The conservation commission will decide on next years’ deer season regulations in May. At that time, if there are any changes, we’ll know what that looks like at that time. For example, if there were changes to feed ban or expand to more counties, we’ll know more at that time. They approve that in May and we can get the publication books and everything printed in July when deer permits go on sale.”
The Missouri Conservation Department has been monitoring and checking for CWD because of the debilitating effects it has on the deer population. CWD is a highly contagious neurological disease. It causes brain deterioration that leads to abnormal behavior, emaciation, loss of bodily function and eventually death. Because of deer’s social habits, once it is in an area, it spreads rapidly given the right circumstances.
It is often spread through saliva, which is why bans are in place on feeding and mineral licks. Social and grooming habits of deer make the spread of the disease quick in areas where there is a lot of encouraged congregation of the animals.
MDC said the low number of new cases of CWD found in Missouri suggest the disease was recently introduced.
MDC Director Sara Pauley said, “We could not accomplish this very important work without the help of the many thousands of hunters and hundreds of landowners around Missouri who brought in their deer for CWD testing to help find and limit the spread of this terrible disease. Thank you.”
For more information on samples submitted for testing, results received and pending, and cases of CWD in Missouri, go online to mdc.mo.gov/cwd under “CWD in Missouri.”
Charlea Estes-Jones
The results of a wide-spread Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) check are in, and Stone County is in the clear for now. None of the deer sampled during opening weekend of deer season in November were found to have CWD, However, statewide, the Missouri Department of Conservation found 15 new cases out of the 18,400 deer tested.
Stone County was one of 25 counties were mandatory CWD testing was done opening weekend. In Stone County, 412 were tested for CWD opening weekend in November, 2017. None of the deer tested were positive for CWD.
Locally, Barry, Taney and Ozark Counties were also tested. The southern counties were tested because of their proximity to CWD found in Arkansas. The decision to make testing mandatory came after CWD was found within 25 miles of the Missouri border.
With all local counties bordering Arkansas coming up clear, at this point, it appears that mandatory sampling will continue to ensure intervention is not necessary in the future. Several hundred deer in northern Arkansas have been found with CWD.
Counties where CWD was found were: Cedar County, one case from a hunter-harvested adult buck; Franklin County, three cases from hunter-harvested adult bucks; Jefferson County, one from a hunter harvested buck; Linn County, four cases from hunter-harvested adult bucks; Macon County, two cases from a hunter-harvested adult buck and a hunter-harvested adult doe; Polk County, one case from a road-killed adult buck; St. Clair County, one case from a hunter-harvested adult buck; and Ste. Genevieve County, two cases from a hunter-harvested adult buck and a hunter-harvested adult doe.
Warren Rose, outreach and education regional supervisor for the Missouri Department of Conservation, said, “Mostly likely we will continue to monitor the counties along the Missouri-Arkansas border. Odds are, we’ll test those counties again next season. I’m not sure what that will look like at this point. We’ll probably test through mandatory sampling, taxidermy stations and road kill as well as any deer that look ill.”
The feeding ban in place for Stone County will remain for the foreseeable future.
Rose added, “The conservation commission will decide on next years’ deer season regulations in May. At that time, if there are any changes, we’ll know what that looks like at that time. For example, if there were changes to feed ban or expand to more counties, we’ll know more at that time. They approve that in May and we can get the publication books and everything printed in July when deer permits go on sale.”
The Missouri Conservation Department has been monitoring and checking for CWD because of the debilitating effects it has on the deer population. CWD is a highly contagious neurological disease. It causes brain deterioration that leads to abnormal behavior, emaciation, loss of bodily function and eventually death. Because of deer’s social habits, once it is in an area, it spreads rapidly given the right circumstances.
It is often spread through saliva, which is why bans are in place on feeding and mineral licks. Social and grooming habits of deer make the spread of the disease quick in areas where there is a lot of encouraged congregation of the animals.
MDC said the low number of new cases of CWD found in Missouri suggest the disease was recently introduced.
MDC Director Sara Pauley said, “We could not accomplish this very important work without the help of the many thousands of hunters and hundreds of landowners around Missouri who brought in their deer for CWD testing to help find and limit the spread of this terrible disease. Thank you.”
For more information on samples submitted for testing, results received and pending, and cases of CWD in Missouri, go online to mdc.mo.gov/cwd under “CWD in Missouri.”