The Michigan Department of Natural Resources has stepped up its surveillance and information efforts in the wake of the Upper Peninsula’s first case of chronic wasting disease being confirmed Oct. 18 from Dickinson County’s Waucedah Township.
A 4-year-old doe killed in September on a deer damage shooting permit tested positive for chronic wasting disease. The deer was shot on an agricultural farm about 4 miles from the Michigan-Wisconsin border, though there is no information available currently to determine whether the deer came from Wisconsin.
“The increased surveillance measures are being taken to determine the extent chronic wasting disease is present in Waucedah Township and the surrounding area,” said Russ Mason, DNR Wildlife Division chief. “We are also testing deer from a wider geographic area to include deer making seasonal movements and to keep watch for potential cases of this fatal deer disease in other parts of the region.”
The DNR has enhanced its CWD information efforts to help raise awareness about what the presence of the disease means for hunters and others, and to answer important questions posed by the public. A toolkit with printable brochures, ads, photos and presentations, along with maps, testing information and surveillance statistics, is available at michigan.gov/cwd.
“It is very important to rely on facts in learning about CWD,” said John Pepin, DNR deputy public information officer. “The latest developments are being updated regularly on the Michigan Emerging Disease Issues webpage (michigan.gov/cwd) maintained by the state. The more folks become informed about the disease, the better equipped they will be to reject misinformation. We need hunters, community members and others to help spread the true facts about CWD.”
Chronic wasting disease is a fatal nervous system disease found in animals from the family Cervidae, including deer, moose and
