Kentucky wildlife officials considering next steps after contagious disease found in deer

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Hunters in Kentucky won't see any immediate changes to deer season, as wildlife officials deal with the first confirmed case of a contagious disease in the state.

The Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Commission held a special meeting Thursday after a deer tested positive for Chronic Wasting Disease. The white-tailed deer was harvested on privately-held land in Ballard County, near Paducah, in early December.

CWD is an untreatable and highly-contagious neurological illness in deer, elk and moose. There is no evidence the disease can be passed to people. However, it is similar to a brain disorder in people with symptoms called Creutzfeldt Jakob disease.

The commission is waiting to get back test results from dozens of deer samples.

"One-third of our samples are still out yet to be tested, and we're waiting results from neighboring states, because that could change how we respond as well as we get data from those folks," said Ben Robinson, director of wildlife for Fish and Wildlife. "We'll have public meetings in the local areas. Stay tuned for that. And we're working up a comprehensive deer package we plan to bring early in the 2024 commission cycle."

Wildlife experts, including Fish and Wildlife's, Dr. Robin Floyd, said no decisions will be made on potentially killing off the herd or other measures about CWD until more data comes in.

"I think there's misinformation of what we intended to do," Floyd said. "We didn't even know ourselves until we heard today the reports from Mr. Robinson. So bear with us. We're going to try to do the right thing."

CWD has spread to more than half U.S. states, including six of the seven states bordering Kentucky.

"Thirty-two other states in the country have detected CWD in their deer and elk herds," said Gabe Jenkins, deputy commissioner of Fish and Wildlife. "With decades of research and learning from other states, we intend to replicate strategies that have proved successful at keeping the infection rate low or potentially eradicate the disease. However, our long-term success of managing CWD depends on the help of our land owners and hunters."

CWD doesn't spread to humans, but officials still advise against eating the meat from game animals that appear to be sick or in poor condition.

"The department is fully prepared to handle CWD, but, ultimately, we want our deer hunters, landowners and enthusiasts not to panic," Jenkins said.

Fish and Wildlife continues to encourage hunters to donate the heads of legally harvested and tele-checked deer for testing and aging. There is no cost to hunters.

Deer hunting season in Kentucky closes in mid-January. See the season dates here.

Kentuckians can help prevent the spread of CWD in the state by reporting sick or abnormal-behaving deer. Reports can be made by:

Call Kentucky Fish and Wildlife at 1-800-858-1549 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (Eastern) on weekdays.

For more information about the department's efforts to prevent the spread of CWD, click here.

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