State Officials Recommend Emergency CWD Safeguards

WATERBURY, VT -- Vermont officials are recommending several steps to stop the spread of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) into the state, after several deer were found with the disease in New York State.

Five deer on two New York deer farms tested positive for CWD over the past two weeks. Previously, Illinois and Wisconsin were the closest the disease had been to Vermont's borders. CWD is a transmissible disease that affects the brain and central nervous system of deer and elk. It is a Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy (TSE) in the same group of diseases as mad cow disease and Creutzfeldt-Jacab disease.

There is currently no evidence that CWD is linked to disease in humans or domestic livestock other than deer or elk. However, given the history of TSE's crossing species barriers, and the current presence of CWD in New York, Vermont officials are recommending that all necessary steps be taken to minimize the risk of CWD entry to and spread within Vermont.

Recommendations from a Governor's CWD Working Group that met on April 12, include:
*Statutory changes expanding the authority of the Secretary of Agriculture governing captive cervids.
*Rules to require the registration and certification of captive cervid herds of deer and elk.
*A mandatory identification program for individual captive cervids.
*Mandatory testing at slaughter for carcasses that are over 16 months in age.
*A feed ban on ruminant protein fed to captive livestock, including deer.
*Mandatory fencing rules for captive cervids.
*Rules controlling deer and elk farms that offer hunting inside their fences.

The CWD Working Group was formed by Governor Jim Douglas last week to recommend policies such as the ones listed above, and to develop an emergency response plan in the event the disease is confirmed in the state. That group includes members from the Agency of Agriculture, the Fish & Wildlife Department, and the Department of Health. The group will continue to meet in the coming weeks and may issue further recommendations.

The state of Vermont has not allowed the importation of live deer or elk since 2002. A voluntary surveillance and testing program for deer farms is also in place for Chronic Wasting Disease. Through that effort, the Agency of Agriculture has tested 94 deer and elk for CWD, turning up no positives.

The Fish & Wildlife Department has been testing deer shot by hunters in Vermont for CWD. Samples from 251 deer in 2002, 294 deer in 2003, and 322 deer in 2004 have been submitted for testing to laboratories. Test results are pending for deer taken in the 2004 hunting seasons. To date, there have been no positive cases of CWD in Vermont.

In addition, the state passed a rule two years ago making it illegal to import or possess whole carcasses or parts of deer or elk from states and Canadian provinces that have had CWD, or from any captive deer or elk herds with the following exceptions: meat that is boneless, hides or cape with no part of the head attached, clean skull cap with no part of the head attached, antlers with no meat or tissue attached, finished taxidermy heads, or upper canine teeth with no tissue attached.

Scientific and epidemiological research into CWD is ongoing. To date, research shows that the disease is typified by chronic weight loss, is always fatal, and is transmissible between susceptible species. CWD has only been found in members of the deer family in North America, which includes white-tailed deer, mule deer, elk, and moose.

CWD has been found in Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah, Wisconsin, and Wyoming in the United States and in Saskatchewan and Alberta in Canada.

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For Further Information please contact: Craig McLaughlin at 802-241-3700 or email to craig.mclaughlin@anr.state.vt.us