Eleven Louisiana deer tested positive for Chronic Wasting Disease during the 2022-23 hunting season, which brings the total to 12. All of the CWD cases have been in Tensas Parish. LDWF State Wildlife Veterinarian Dr. Jim LaCour said when the first one in January 2022 was detected, they implemented a control plan.
“It is very concerning. Obviously, we’re doing some very intensive testing in that area to monitor for the spread of the disease and we do expect that will likely happen in the future,” said LaCour.
A total of 2,370 hunter-harvested deer were tested for CWD.
And while CWD has not been shown to be contagious to humans it’s recommended not to consume deer that have tested positive.
When the first case was detected a CWD control plan, which included Tensas Parish, and parts of Franklin and Madison Parishes, was implemented. The plan included feeding and baiting bans to prevent the spread of the disease, free testing for hunters, and banning the export of deer central nervous tissue from the area.
“Hopefully our measures we’ve implemented will at least slow that spread out of the area,” said LaCour.
And while you might assume wildlife officials would deter hunting in the area LaCour said just the opposite. LWDF will continue to test for CWD, and they are making it as easy as possible for hunters.
“The more deer people shoot the fewer deer on the landscape to get nose-to-nose or contract the disease from other deer. So, we’re just making it simple for them to test to ensure that the animals are safe to consume,” said LaCour.
Bow hunting season begins October 1st.
For more information on CWD click here.
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