This management plan is intended to be dynamic; management strategies described within are likely to change as both the epidemiology and management of this disease become better understood through time. Thus, more specific, science-based responses may be developed and incorporated into this plan following further discoveries of CWD or more impactful management techniques. Three major goals of this CWD management plan are:.
Manage for healthy free-ranging and captive white-tailed deer, mule deer, and other susceptible species in Texas. Establish and maintain stakeholder support for CWD management through effective outreach and communication. Minimize direct and indirect impacts of CWD to hunting, hunting related economies, and conservation in Texas. Select a county to see certified CWD collectors. More CWD News ». CWD in Texas. Chronic Wasting Disease.
Find a Check Station. The waiver should be completed and kept on your person or with the deer head until it reaches the taxidermist. Present the form to the taxidermist to ensure they are aware of the disposal requirements on non-useable parts from the head; Carcass movement restrictions do not apply if the carcass will not be moved outside of a CWD zone. Three major goals of this CWD management plan are: Manage for healthy free-ranging and captive white-tailed deer, mule deer, and other susceptible species in Texas.
It is a balancing act between meeting disease management objectives and maintaining a viable and sustainable population. Current programs are aimed at increasing hunter participation through increased bag limits and harvest opportunities, engaging landowners in active CWD management, focusing additional removal of deer around confirmed positives in low prevalence areas, and conducting annual aerial surveys to monitor the effects of CWD on population levels. In addition, regulations help prevent the spread of prions by humans.
Current CWD-specific regulations restrict the movement of live deer in the state, restrict the movement of infected carcasses outside of known CWD endemic areas, and prohibit practices that concentrate deer. The long-term impacts of CWD on deer populations in Tennessee are currently unknown. Other states have seen a shift in the age structure—meaning they no longer see older deer.
These outcomes are neither desirable, nor consistent with managing for long-term, healthy, and sustainable deer populations. TWRA is committed to preventing these undesirable outcomes. One such project is using dogs as biosensors i. Additionally, research is being developed to better understand the role environmental deposits of prions play in the natural disease transmission cycle.
TWRA needs active input from our stakeholders, and strives to provide them with the most up-to-date developments. CWD management programs in Tennessee are constantly being refined in response to new research and changing conditions across the landscape. TWRA is currently developing a long-term CWD Management Strategic Plan to provide a framework for prevention, surveillance, monitoring, management, and research activities.
CWD management is not a one-man band. It is a partnership between TWRA, partners,, hunters, landowners, and you. Your engagement and support is needed. Please, harvest more deer in Unit CWD. Abide by carcass transportation and feeding restrictions in CWD-positive and high-risk counties. Seek out credible sources, and understand the newest scientific information on CWD management.
Together we can conserve a healthy deer population for the benefit of present and future generations. The short answer is an increased harvest will result in fewer deer in Unit CWD, resulting in less frequent deer interactions where disease transfer can occur.
Hunter harvest is the only feasible way to accomplish thisat a large scale. Presently, an increase in both buck and doe harvest is needed in Unit CWD.
Bucks are the most likely to spread this disease to new areas since they have larger home ranges than females and testing results show they are twice as likely to have CWD.
Increased doe harvest will decrease local deer densities and lower transmission within family groups. Fayette and Hardeman counties are the most heavily impacted. High disease rates there indicate the environment is a source of infection in addition to animal-to-animal contact. Left unchecked, infection rates will continue to grow, causing a population decline and a younger overall deer population.
Population reduction is also needed in the remaining Unit CWD counties which are either positive with relatively low infection rates or are not yet positive but CWD has been detected within 10 miles of the county border.
Fewer sick deer will help lower the likelihood that CWD will continue to expand within Tennessee. In addition, recently instituted regulations help prevent the spread of prions by humans by restricting the movement of live deer in the state, restricting the movement of potentially infected carcasses outside of known CWD endemic areas, and prohibiting practices that concentrate deer.
One such project involves using dogs as biosensors i. Another project will lead to a better understanding of the role environmental deposits of prions play in the natural disease transmission cycle.
CWD management programs in Tennessee are constantly being refined in response to new research and changing conditions across the landscape.
After the deer hunting season, Fayette County had the highest county-wide prevalence of CWD at Both Fayette County and Hardeman County have seen increases in prevalence since Within these two high-prevalence counties, the disease is not distributed evenly, and the prevalence essentially represents an average for the county. CWD prevalence is higher in and around this core area than in other parts of these counties.
A much lower percentage of deer that are harvested from other areas of Fayette and Hardeman counties test positive for CWD.
Although it may seem as if the disease has spread rapidly across southwest Tennessee, the reality is the disease was likely there for many years before being detected. It has taken three years of surveillance to fully understand the extent of the affected area, but we now believe we have identified the current, distribution of CWD in Tennessee.
The long-term impacts of CWD on deer populations in Tennessee are currently unknown. Other states have seen a shift in the age structure—meaning they no longer see older deer. These outcomes are neither desirable, nor consistent with managing for long-term, healthy, and sustainable deer populations.
TWRA is committed to preventing these undesirable outcomes. It is critical that we swiftly and effectively employ our management. If left unchecked, the disease may yet continue to spread past the known range in Tennessee.
CWD management is not a one-man band.
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