News Filed Under Chronic Wasting Disease

For many of you, chronic wasting disease, or CWD, is old hat and you’re tired of hearing about it. I understand.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- A year after chronic wasting disease was found in Mississippi, my deer season was very different than those in the past.

While I still considered management and hunting strategies, I could not escape the disappointment I would feel if the disease we call CWD had progressed to my cherished hunting spots. Luckily, it was not detected where I hunt, but other places in Mississippi did not fare so well.

Hunters play a large role in helping to manage Mississippi’s deer population. Hunters not only help control deer numbers but also provide statewide harvest data that gives biologists insight into deer numbers, health and conditioning. 

As we enter the first deer hunting season since the confirmation of chronic wasting disease -- or CWD -- in the state, we need assistance from Mississippi deer hunters more than ever. 

Hunting is a Big Deal in our family, and the news in mid-October that a second deer in Mississippi had tested positive for Chronic Wasting Disease, or CWD, was met with dismay. (Photo by the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism/Michael Hopper)

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Mississippi hunters will be on the front lines of the battle to protect deer from spreading a deadly disease throughout their herds.

Last February, a 4-year-old buck in Issaquena County tested positive for chronic wasting disease -- or CWD. This contagious, terminal disease affects members of the deer family, ultimately causing holes in their brains. Infected deer lose weight and “just waste away.”

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Shock. Disbelief. Denial. Anger. Acceptance. Get busy. This pretty much sums up my range of emotions after the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks released a statement that a 4-year-old buck tested positive for chronic wasting disease, or CWD, in Issaquena County last week.