TWRA Director Ed Carter addresses the agency’s governing commission
The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency has taken precautions for many years in an effort to prevent chronic wasting disease from infecting deer or elk populations, which is why it is closely monitoring a CWD outbreak in neighboring Arkansas.
“We have instituted polices to thwart chronic wasting disease, including regulations on hunters that place restrictions on the transportation of carcasses from deer, elk, and other cervids (mule deer, moose, etc.) into our state,” said Ed Carter, the executive director of TWRA.
Those “handling” restrictions are listed in TWRA’s annual hunting guide, which is available from businesses that sell hunting and fishing licenses, but also on the agency’s website at www.tnwildlife.org.
“We wish the best to our Arkansas counterparts as they fight the spread of this disease, but at the same time we want to learn from their efforts to stop it,” said Carter.
Abnormal proteins known as prions cause chronic wasting disease in cervids. Located in the brain, this neurological infection is similar to mad cow disease; however, it is not known to spread to humans or livestock.
Biologists believe CWD is transmitted by animal-to-animal contact, or possibly through food or water sources. Symptoms include weight loss, behavioral changes, excessive salivation, difficulty swallowing, and excessive thirst.
The Arkansas Game And Fish Commission reported in February that an elk tested positive for CWD, but in March confirmed that the disease had also been found in deer. Other U.S. states have reported CWD outbreaks, but Arkansas is experiencing it for the first time.
So far, all confirmed CWD cases in Arkansas have been in the northwest portion of the state about 200 miles from Tennessee.
Should CWD ever make its way to Tennessee, TWRA has a plan established to confront it, said the agency’s director.
“We are constantly updating our CWD strategy because wasting disease can devastate deer and elk populations,” said Carter. “It is our hope that we never have to use it, but we will be ready should we have to fight this disease, too.”