The Pennsylvania Game Commission has established the state’s second Disease Management Area in parts of four counties in response to three hunter-killed deer that tested positive for Chronic Wasting Disease.

Through an executive order, PGC Executive Director Carl G. Roe has created the state’s second Disease Management Area (DMA) in parts of Bedford, Blair, Cambria and Huntingdon counties. The first, in Adams and York counties, was established by executive order in October, 2012. Within these DMAs, there are special restrictions for people to minimize the risk of spreading CWD.

The executive order sets in place a variety of restrictions, including the following: it is illegal to remove or export high-risk cervid parts – including head, spine, spleen – from DMAs; all cervids killed in the DMAs are subject to testing by PGC; cervids within the DMAs cannot be rehabilitated, including injured and reportedly orphaned deer; the use or possession of cervid urine-based attractants is prohibited in DMAs; direct or indirect feeding of wild, free-ranging deer is illegal in DMAs; no new PGC permits will be issued to possess or transport live cervids.

Road-killed deer can be picked up under certain conditions, and those looking to do so can call their PGC regional office for approval.

“The second executive order creates a second Disease Management Area over nearly 900 square miles in Bedford, Blair, Cambria and Huntingdon counties and changes laws, regulations and restrictions related to free-ranging deer and other cervids,” Roe explained. “They are steps we have taken to provide additional protections to the state’s invaluable populations of wild deer and elk.

“We are counting on all Pennsylvanians to help us in this important endeavor,” Roe said. “Their cooperation will play a major role in helping to contain or limit the spread of CWD within the Commonwealth.”

The executive order and maps with descriptions of both DMAs have been posted on the Game Commission’s website, www.pgc.state.pa.us, in the CWD Info Section, which can be accessed from the website’s homepage. They also will be published in the 2013-14 Pennsylvania Hunting and Trapping Digest. Combined, both DMAs total nearly 1,500 square miles of the Commonwealth.

The Commonwealth’s CWD Interagency Task Force went into action to address the threat of the disease to captive and wild deer and elk populations in the state as soon as a captive white-tailed deer tested positive for CWD in October. Task force members include representatives from the state departments of Agriculture, Environmental Protection and Health, the Pennsylvania Game Commission, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Geological Survey/Pennsylvania Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit and Penn State University/Cooperative Extension Offices. Generally, the state Department of Agriculture manages threats from captive deer and other cervids, while the Game Commission manages threats from wild deer and elk. The task force works to carry out an established response plan, which includes education and outreach with public meetings and minimizing risk factors through continued surveillance, testing and management.

Pennsylvania’s first case of CWD was reported by the state Department of Agriculture October 11, 2012; it involved a captive-born and -raised white-tailed deer from a farm near New Oxford in Adams County. The sample tissue was tested at the Pennsylvania Veterinary Laboratory in Harrisburg and verified at the National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Ames, Iowa. The Game Commission on March 1 announced the state’s first three cases of CWD in free-ranging deer.

CWD attacks the brains of infected deer, elk and moose. It is transmitted by direct animal-to-animal contact, such as through saliva, feces and urine, or indirectly by exposure to a contaminated environment. The disease is fatal and there is no known treatment or vaccine. CWD was first discovered in Colorado captive mule deer in 1967, and has since been detected in 21 other states and two Canadian provinces, including Pennsylvania’s neighboring states of New York, West Virginia and Maryland. Pennsylvania is the 22nd state to find CWD in a captive or wild deer population.

The 2012 hunter-killed deer from Bedford and Blair counties that tested positive for CWD were the first since the PGC began testing for the disease in 1998. Prior to that, more than 43,000 free-ranging deer and elk had tested negative for CWD.

For additional information on CWD visit our website at www.pgc.state.pa.us

The Pennsylvania Game Commission today confirmed three hunter-killed deer taken in the 2012 general firearms deer season have tested positive for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). Two were from Blair County; the other was from Bedford County.

“These are the first positive cases of CWD in free-ranging deer in Pennsylvania,” confirmed Pennsylvania Game Commission Executive Director Carl G. Roe. “The disease was first documented in early October, 2012, by the state Department of Agriculture in a captive deer on an Adams County deer farm.”

The three hunter-killed deer tissue samples were collected by Game Commission personnel during annual deer aging field checks during the general firearms season for deer. The samples were tested and identified as suspect positive by the Department of Agriculture as part of an ongoing annual statewide CWD surveillance program. The tissue samples were confirmed to be positive for CWD by the National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames, Iowa, as part of an established verification process.

“The three CWD-positives were part of 2,945 deer sampled for the disease statewide,” explained Roe. “To date, we have received test results from 1,500 samples, including these three positive samples. Results from the remaining samples should be available in the next few weeks.”

An additional 2,089 deer were sampled and tested from within the designated Disease Management Area in Adams and York counties; CWD was not detected in any of those deer samples. Since 1998, the Game Commission has gathered and submitted more than 43,000 samples from wild deer and elk for CWD testing. The three CWD-positives announced today are the first to be confirmed in 15 years of testing.

“Pennsylvania has an active Interagency CWD Task Force and a dynamic CWD surveillance program,” Roe noted, “and we will continue to be vigilant and initiate steps included in the Commonwealth’s CWD Response Plan. We will continue to work diligently with the Department of Agriculture and other members of the task force to better manage the threat of this disease to the state’s captive and wild deer populations.”

The Game Commission is working to identify and engage the hunters who harvested these CWD-positive deer to confirm where the whitetails were killed. A meeting of the Interagency CWD Task Force is being convened this afternoon to discuss the new CWD-positive deer and possible additional actions to determine the prevalence and distribution of the disease within Pennsylvania, as well as to contain its spread.

The latest information and updates to existing CWD information can be accessed on the Game Commission’s website (www.pgc.state.pa.us). Public meetings will be held in the Blair-Bedford County area in coming weeks to share what we know about these CWD-positive deer and CWD in Pennsylvania, and to answer questions the public might have about this disease. How these latest developments may influence hunting regulations and other deer policies are at this time still contingent upon the results of ongoing testing of samples from hunter-killed deer, additional surveillance and fieldwork, and Game Commission and task force deliberations.
CWD is a degenerative brain disease that affects elk, mule deer and white-tailed deer. It is transmitted by direct animal-to-animal contact through saliva, feces and urine. CWD is fatal in deer and elk, but there is no evidence that CWD can be transmitted to humans, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and The World Health Organization.

Signs of the disease include weight loss, excessive salivation, increased drinking and urination, and abnormal behavior such as stumbling, trembling and depression. Infected deer and elk also may allow unusually close approach by humans or natural predators. There is no known treatment or vaccine.

CWD was first discovered in Colorado captive mule deer in 1967, and has since been detected in 22 states and Canadian provinces, including Pennsylvania’s neighboring states of New York, West Virginia and Maryland.

Source: Pa. Game Commission

The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture today confirmed that Chronic Wasting Disease was not found in an escaped deer known by its farm tag “Pink 23.” The doe was part of a New Oxford, Adams County, deer farm where the disease was first detected.  The deer escaped its farm at 1491 New Chester Road, New Oxford, in mid-October when officials were removing the herd for testing. The doe was shot last month on an adjoining deer farm at 1305 New Chester Road, New Oxford. Both farms remain quarantined.

Tests are underway at the Pennsylvania State Veterinary Laboratory in Harrisburg on a deer that escaped from an unlicensed deer farm in Huntington County. The deer, known as “Purple 4,” was originally on a farm that was quarantined. To date, two deer have tested positive for Chronic Wasting Disease. As a result, the agriculture department has quarantined 24 farms in 12 counties that have been identified as being associated with the herd where deer that tested positive for the disease were found. Deer cannot be moved on or off those quarantined premises.

Chronic Wasting Disease attacks the brains of infected antlered animals such as deer, elk and moose, producing small lesions that eventually result in death. Animals can get the disease through direct contact with saliva, feces and urine from an infected animal. There is no evidence that humans or livestock can get the disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Surveillance for the disease has been ongoing in Pennsylvania since 1998. The agriculture department coordinates a mandatory monitoring program for more than 23,000 captive deer on 1,100 breeding farms, hobby farms and shooting preserves. The Pennsylvania Game Commission collects samples from hunter-harvested deer and elk and those that appear sick or behave abnormally. Since 1998, the commission has tested more than 38,000 free-ranging deer and elk for the disease and all have tested negative.

For more information, visit www.agriculture.state.pa.us and click on the “Chronic Wasting Disease Information” button on the homepage.

With the two-week firearms deer season (Nov. 26-Dec. 8) just around the corner, the Pennsylvania Game Commission is preparing for its annual statewide sample collection of hunter-killed deer to determine if chronic wasting disease (CWD) is present in the wild deer populations. However, this effort has taken on a new level of focus within the 600-square-mile Disease Management Area (DMA) in Adams and York counties, where two captive-raised deer were determined to have been infected with CWD.

Statewide, Game Commission deer aging teams will begin collecting deer heads beginning on Wednesday, Nov. 28 – the third day of the state’s two-week rifle deer season. The heads will be taken to the six Game Commission Region Offices, where samples will be collected for testing.

“We will be attempting to collect 3,000 samples from hunter-killed deer throughout the state,” said Carl G. Roe, Game Commission executive director. “However, within the DMA, we will collect samples throughout the two-week rifle deer season from all hunter-killed deer, as well as any road-killed deer and deer culled from the Gettysburg National Battlefield. It is important to remember that no wild deer have been found to be infected with CWD.

“For those hunters within the DMA, we are going to do our best to make checking a deer as convenient as possible. However, for those who willfully take deer outside the DMA without having it checked or without leaving high-risk deer parts within the DMA, they need to understand that they will be cited for violating the Executive Order that was issued on Oct. 17. In addition to facing a fine, the agency will confiscate the deer from the hunter as contraband and no replacement tag would be provided in such a situation.”

As part of the Executive Order, the Game Commission designated a 600-square-mile Disease Management Area in Adams and York counties; banned the movement of high-risk deer parts outside of the DMA; required hunters to take deer harvested within the DMA to a check station for sample collection; prohibited the use of urine-based deer attractants within the DMA; and prohibited the feeding of deer within the DMA.

Roe noted recent survey results of 2,000 residents in Adams and York counties show an overwhelming number of those who currently hunt plan to continue deer hunting, but will look forward to learning more about the recent developments involving CWD. The Game Commission employed Susquehanna Polling and Research, in Harrisburg, to conduct the survey.

“Only 19 percent of the respondents said they were very concerned about CWD, 51 percent said they were somewhat concerned and 29 percent said they were not concerned at all,” Roe said. “However, the majority of respondents – 75 percent – said their behavior won’t change. Of those who will change their behavior, 12 percent said they would learn more about CWD and 9 percent said they would handle venison more carefully.

“Checking all hunter-killed deer in the DMA is an enormous task, and the success of this effort will rest with hunters cooperating with the Game Commission. Hunters have the option to bring deer harvested within the DMA to either our check station on State Game Land 249 in Adams County or to any deer processor or taxidermist within the DMA, specifically the 14 facilities acting as direct cooperators for the Game Commission. Our deer aging teams, who also collect samples for CWD testing, will be visiting all of the processors within the DMA to gather samples for testing, too.”

In addition to the one check station established by the Game Commission on State Game Land 249, the agency has reached agreement 14 processors and taxidermists in the DMA to serve as direct cooperators. More processors and taxidermists may be added to the list, so hunters should continue to monitor the listings posted on the “CWD Info” page on the Game Commission’s website (www.pgc.state.pa.us).

“All processors and taxidermists within the DMA will be recognized by the Game Commission as check stations, including those who are serving as direct cooperators,” Roe said. “Hunters will simply need to take their deer to any of these facilities within the DMA, and the Game Commission will be visiting each of the facilities to gather the necessary samples.

“While this may require some hunters to alter their preference of where they have their deer processed or mounted, it will help ensure that any potentially high-risk deer parts remain within the DMA. Doing so will fulfill the requirements of the agency’s Executive Order that high-risk deer parts remain within the DMA and that hunters who harvest a deer take their deer to a check station.”

The seven deer processors who will participate as direct cooperators for the Game Commission are:

- Stevens Butcher Shop, 112 Center Mills Rd., Aspers, 717-677-8219

- Dwight Nell Custom Butchering, 130 Beaver Creek Rd., East Berlin, 717-259-9445

- Butcher Block Meats, 3055 Biglerville Rd., Biglerville, 717-579-8763

- Gary’s Meat Locker, 236 Poplar St., Hanover, 717-633-6773

- Wantz Brothers, 6346 Wantz Lane, York, 717-252-2011

- Weaver’s Butcher Shop, 1402 Centennial Rd., New Oxford, 717-624-2879

- Rick Messinger, 8184 Orchard Rd., Thomasville, 717-225-9603

The seven taxidermists who will participate as direct cooperators for the Game Commission are:

- High Expectations Taxidermy, 135 Cedar Hill Dr., Dover, 717-503-2600

- Outback Imagery Taxidermy, 7503 Carlisle Pike, York Springs, 717-528-4802

- Leakway Taxidermy, 855 Pleasant Grove Rd., York Haven, 717-266-9410

- Prowell’s Taxidermy, 1305 Sheepbridge Rd., York, 717-266-2180

- Tall Tail Taxidermy, 800 Old Hanover Rd., Spring Grove, 717-855-3909

- Hickory Taxidermy, 196 Hickory Rd., Littlestown, 717-359-5656

- Becker’s Taxidermy, 315 Hollywood Ave., New Oxford, 717-624-4675

Roe added that hunters harvesting a deer within the DMA who process their own deer or who would like to take their deer to a processor or taxidermist outside of the DMA can visit the Game Commission-operated check station at the agency’s maintenance building on State Game Land 249, 1070 Lake Meade Road, East Berlin, Adams County. GPS coordinates for the building are -77.07280 and 39.97018. Samples will be collected and the carcass will be marked to indicate it has been presented to the check station. Hunters will be able to take antlers or caped heads with them from the station. For hunters leaving the DMA, the deer carcass will be quartered so that low-risk material can leave the DMA, but high-risk deer parts will remain at the check station for disposal.

Game Commission check station hours during the two-week rifle deer season are from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday-Saturday, but will remain open beyond 8 p.m., as needed. Also, the check station will be opened on Sundays, Dec. 2 and 9, from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m.

“To expedite the process, hunters should bring deer into the check station with the deer head accessible and, if it is in a pickup truck, with the head pointed to the tailgate,” said Brad Myers, Game Commission Southcentral Region director. “Also, hunters should not wait until evening to bring deer in, but bring them throughout the day. This is especially important if the weather is warm.

“This station will not be checking or processing bears. Bear hunters should take their bears to established check stations, which are outlined on pages 37 and 38 of the 2012-13 Digest. Also, deer harvested outside of the DMA will not be eligible for testing at the check station.”

CWD testing of healthy appearing hunter-killed deer outside the DMA is available. Hunters who wish to have their deer tested may do so for a fee by making arrangements with the Pennsylvania Animal Diagnostics Laboratory System. For information visit http://www.padls.org, or call the Pennsylvania Veterinary Laboratory (717-787-8808) in Harrisburg, The Animal Diagnostics Laboratory (814-863-0837) in State College, or the New Bolton Center (610-444-5800) in Kennett Square.

On Oct. 11, the state Department of Agriculture announced that a captive deer died of CWD on a deer farm in Adams County. Prior to its death, this deer had potentially spent time on three sites in Adams and York counties, which are now part of the Game Commission’s designated DMA. As soon as the CWD-infected captive deer was found, the Commonwealth’s CWD Interagency Task Force was initiated to address the threat of the disease to captive and wild deer and elk populations in the state. On Nov. 7, the state Department of Agriculture announced that a second captive deer tested positive for CWD from the same deer farm in Adams County.

Task force members include representatives from the departments of Agriculture, Environmental Protection and Health, the Pennsylvania Game Commission, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Geological Survey/Pennsylvania Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit and Penn State University/Cooperative Extension Offices. The task force will carry out the response plan, which includes education and outreach with public meetings and minimizing risk factors through continued surveillance, testing and management.

A 40-minute video with Dr. Walter Cottrell, Game Commission wildlife veterinarian, explaining CWD has been posted on the Game Commission’s website (www.pgc.state.pa.us), and can be viewed by clicking on the “CWD Info” icon button in the center of the homepage and then scrolling down to the imbedded viewer.

For more information from the departments of Agriculture and Health and the Pennsylvania Game Commission, visit the following agency website’s:

www.agriculture.state.pa.us (click on the “Chronic Wasting Disease Information” button on the homepage),

www.pgc.state.pa.us (click on “CWD Info”), and

www.health.state.pa.us (click on “Diseases and Conditions”).

Chronic Wasting Disease is a fatal disease that attacks the brain and nervous system of deer, elk , and moose. And it`s been found in two deer in a captive deer farm in Adams County.

“To our knowledge it`s not in the wild and we`ve been testing deer and elk killed by hunters from pa since 1998,”says Jerry Feaser, PA Game Commission

The Pennsylvania Game Commission established a disease management area surrounding the Adams County farm where the deer tested positive. As part of that plan, hunters may not move high-risk deer parts out of the area. Hunters who harvest deer within the DMA during the two weeks of firearms season must bring their deer to a mandatory check station.They’re also banning any feeding of deer in the area, and the use of urine based attractants.

While there is no evidence that this can spread to humans the PA Game Commission is asking hunters to use their common sense. ” If you harvest a deer that appears unhealthy don’t eat it,” says Feaser

The PA Game Commission is holding a third public meeting on the disease. The meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 12, at the Hampton Fire Company, 5371 Carlisle Pike in New Oxford, Adams County.