Chronic wasting disease remains a concern for deer hunters in Tennessee

With the start of gun deer-hunting season in Tennessee this past weekend, an ailment afflicting the deer family for the past couple decades remains an area of concern for hunters in the state. Chronic wasting disease is a progressive and fatal disease of the nervous system affecting members of the deer family, including white-tailed deer, mule deer, elk and moose, according to information from the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. CWD belongs to a family of diseases called transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, better known as prion diseases. Since CWD was discovered in Wisconsin in 2002, the TWRA has maintained a goal to keep the disease from spreading, keep the number of diseased deer to a minimum, and reduce disease rates where and when possible. Following the 2002 discovery, the TWRA began surveying deer across the state for CWD. Surveillance efforts were improved and intensified after the disease was discovered in neighboring Arkansas in 2016. Measures to keep the disease out of Tennessee were enacted, including restricting interstate carcass transportation and the use of urine lures. Nonetheless, chronic wasting disease has been found in wild white-tailed deer in 18 counties since the 2018-19 hunting season. That first year, it was found in Fayette, Hardeman and Madison counties. In 2019-20, affected counties included Chester, Fayette, Hardeman, Haywood, Madison, Shelby and Tipton. The list for 2020-21 included Fayette, Hardeman, Haywood, Lauderdale, Madison, Shelby and Tipton. The number of afflicted counties grew starting in 2021-22, including Chester, Crockett, Dyer, Fayette, Gibson, Hardeman, Hardin, Haywood, Henderson, Henry, Madison, McNairy, Shelby, Tipton and Weakley. Counties for the 2022-23 hunting season were Chester, Crockett, Fayette, Hardeman, Hardin, Haywood, Lauderdale, Madison, McNairy, Shelby and Tipton. And for 2023-24, the last season for which complete data is available, the affected counties were Crockett, Fayette, Gibson, Hardeman, Hardin, Haywood, Henry, Lewis, Madison, McNairy, Shelby and Tipton. Preliminary TWRA data for the 2024-25 season shows that Fayette County continues to have the highest countywide CWD prevalence. Hardeman County has the second-highest. Both show an increase in prevalence over the 2023-24 season, as does Shelby County. But all positive counties remain at or below a 2% prevalence. Although the growing list of affected counties makes it seem as though CWD is spreading rapidly, the TWRA says that growth is more a result of expanded surveillance and improved understanding of the disease, which likely was present in the state for many years before being detected. Starting with testing of 10 hunter-harvested deer from Fayette and Hardeman counties on Dec. 14, 2018, more than 38,000 deer have been sampled in Tennessee in the years since. There are a number of ways sportsmen can help keep chronic wasting disease in Tennessee to a minimum. One is to keep hunting and take advantage of additional opportunities to harvest deer with increased bag limits in CWD-affected counties. The CWD Management Zone includes Benton, Carroll, Chester, Crockett, Decatur, Dyer, Fayette, Gibson, Hardeman, Hardin, Haywood, Henderson, Henry, Madison, McNairy, Lake, Lauderdale, Lewis, Obion, Shelby, Tipton, Wayne and Weakley counties. The TWRA also asks hunters to honor Tennessee carcass transportation restrictions if they are hunting out of state or exporting from CWD-affected counties by moving only deboned meat, clean skulls, skull plates and teeth, antlers, finished taxidermy, hides and tanned products. Hunters also are asked to follow regulations prohibiting the placement of grain, salt products, minerals and other consumable products for wildlife in CWD-affected counties. Hunters also are asked to have deer tested for CWD and follow best practices for carcass disposal in CWF-affected counties. Sportsmen also should report sick or abnormal-looking deer or elk to the TWRA. Anyone not following carcass transportation laws should be reported to the TRWA.