On a cold Thursday night in January, about 100 people filed into the Grace Church of La Center in Ballard County to hear officials from the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources talk about something none of them wanted to hear—Chronic Wasting Disease or CWD.
Those attending seemed most interested in learning how the state game agency planned to protect Kentucky’s deer and elk herd from CWD, which recently had been confirmed in a 2½-year-old male deer in Ballard County, and what those efforts might mean for them as hunters and landowners. It was the first confirmed case of CWD in the state, but it likely won’t be the last.
This is bad news, but it shouldn’t have come as a surprise. CWD was first discovered in mule deer in a Northern Colorado research facility in 1967 and since has spread to 30 states and four Canadian provinces. Since 2002, Kentucky wildlife officials regularly have tested for the disease in every county. The agency also has strict guidelines in place guarding how deer and elk taken outside Kentucky must be processed and handled before it can be brought home. There is no live animal test for CWD. It requires examining a portion of the brain stem.
The disease has been found in neighboring states, including Missouri and Tennessee.
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Chronic Wasting Disease is, according to the state game agency website, a “neurologic disease that affects deer, elk and other species in the deer family.” It is untreatable and always fatal. It is not known to affect humans. No one is happy that CWD has been discovered in Kentucky. Everyone is concerned about how to keep it controlled. Elimination of the disease is a lofty but unrealistic goal.
The seriousness of the matter was reflected in the wildlife luminaries who gathered in La Center to address the crowd and answer questions. The gathering included the state director of wildlife, the coordinator of the agency’s deer program, the 1st District commissioner, the state wildlife veterinarian, and Gabe Jenkins, a deputy commissioner for the agency and the former director of the state’s deer and elk program. Jenkins has been thinking about and guarding against CWD for years.
Now, it’s here. What does he intend to do about it?
“What we want not to do is make a knee-jerk reaction,” Jenkins said. “We want to take a hunters-first approach at this. And we have to think long term. [Controlling CWD] is not a sprint. It’s a marathon.”
If this sounds like an almost perfect no-answer answer, that’s because it is. Game officials are, wisely, gathering as much data, including public input, as they can in formulating a plan.
The crowd at Grace Church was attentive and well behaved, but not bashful when asking questions.
They left with few, if any, specific answers, particularly about a plan of action. That’s because wildlife officials didn’t have one. But they will, Jenkins said, noting that the agency’s specialists will have a full list of CWD-related recommendations, including those for the 2024-2025 deer season, for the nine-member commission to consider at its next quarterly meeting, which was slated for March 1 at the KDFWR headquarters in Frankfort. The commission’s regular quarterly meetings are open to the public and live streamed at the agency’s YouTube channel.
Jenkins declined to discuss specifics on the upcoming recommendations but did say that hunters can expect the current five-county CWD surveillance zone (Calloway, Fulton, Graves, Hickman and Marshall counties) to be expanded.
He also said that an eradication tactic, where officials attempt to remove all deer from a CWD-targeted area, is not being considered. Eradication has been tried in a few areas with mixed results.
Deer and elk are two of the most popular wildlife species in the state, enjoyed and valued by hunters and non-hunters. Kentucky is home to more than 1 million deer. Hunters and landowners play a vital role in managing the herd, as hunting is the only viable method of managing whitetail numbers.
Jenkins knows not everyone will be happy with any specific CWD management plan, but he encourages patience and cooperation. CWD is serious, but the situation is far from dire.
“We must think long term,” he stressed. “Everyone has a vested interest in the deer population in this state. We don’t want hunters and landowners to freak out. We want people to continue to hunt. What I would say is, don’t panic. Work with us.”
It’s good advice.
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To report a deer that appears sickly or acting oddly, call the Fish and Wildlife Department headquarters at 1.800.858.1549.
For more information, go to fw.ky.gov and click on Chronic Wasting Disease.
Readers may contact Gary Garth at editor@kentuckymonthly.com