Game, Fish and Parks officials say deer in Ziebach County have tested positive for chronic wasting disease. The fatal brain disease is largely found in deer, elk and moose.
Chronic wasting disease is now evident in deer from 15 counties in the central and western parts of the state.
Chad Switzer is a wildlife program administrator with GF&P. He says the disease shows up at least a year after the animal contracts it.
“They might show loss of muscle control, a little change in their behavior. They might have droopy ears. They might have, salivation, increased drinking and just some odd, unusual behaviors.”
Switzer asks hunters in affected areas to follow regulations that will help reduce the spread of CWD.
“We want to ensure that those, any of those carcass parts that come outside of an endemic area into an area where we have not detected CWD, we want to ensure—and the regulations imply this—that those carcass remains have to be disposed of either with your waste management provider, in your garbage container at your home if they're an allowable item with that company or they have to be delivered to a permitted landfill.”
Switzer says eating venison from CWD areas is not recommended if the animal tests positive.
Hunters who aren’t sure whether their deer is infected are encouraged to contact the Game, Fish and Parks department.
-Contact SDPB reporter John Nguyen by email.