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Bismarck\u00a0 (Game & Fish)\u00a0 A white-tailed deer found dead just south of Williston in late February has been confirmed positive for chronic wasting disease, according to Dr. Charlie Bahnson, wildlife veterinarian for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is unfortunate news because it means CWD is much farther south than the positive deer harvested this past fall in the northwest corner of deer unit 3A1 in Divide County,\u201d Bahnson said.<\/p>\n
CWD is a fatal disease of deer, moose and elk that can cause long-term population declines if left unchecked. Since 2009, 14 other deer have tested positive for CWD in North Dakota \u2013 13 from Grant and Sioux counties in hunting unit 3F2 in the southwest, and the other taken last fall from the northwest in Divide County.<\/p>\n
The deer found near Williston is the first documented case of a mortality due to CWD in North Dakota.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll 14 previous detections were perfectly healthy-looking deer that were hunter-harvested before they got sick,\u201d Bahnson said. \u201cThis deer was severely emaciated and had an empty digestive tract, which is unusual even in starvation cases that can occur in harder winters like this one. This deer stopped trying to forage some time ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bahnson said this deer was probably not the first to die of CWD in North Dakota, especially since the disease has been documented in 3F2 for a decade. \u201cBut this animal happened to die in an area where it was highly visible, and the carcass could be recovered in time for testing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The Game and Fish Department will collect additional samples for testing through targeted removal over the next week or so. In addition to the targeted removal and testing, Game and Fish will review the need to amend the current CWD proclamation to reflect the new CWD positive.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn other areas of the country where CWD has reached a tipping point, finding sick or dead CWD-infected deer has become common,\u201d Bahnson said. \u201cWe need to do everything in our power to ensure that doesn\u2019t happen in North Dakota.\u201d<\/p>\n