GAME COMMISSION DESIGNATES DISEASE MANAGEMENT AREA IN RESPONSE TO CWD CONFIRMATION ON DEER FARM IN ADAMS COUNTY
Deer feeding banned in DMA; check station established for hunters in DMA
HARRISBURG
– In a continuing response to the recent confirmation of Pennsylvania’s
first case of chronic wasting disease of a captive-born and raised deer
on a farm in Adams County, Pennsylvania Game Commission Executive
Director Carl G. Roe today issued an Executive Order outlining a disease
management area (DMA), which carries special restrictions in relation
to deer within the DMA. While a map has been posted on the Game
Commission’s website, the boundaries of the DMA are described below, and
encompass a nearly 600-square-mile area of Adams and York counties.
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. 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.
“This
Executive Order will enable the Game Commission and Task Force members
to monitor the state’s wild deer population in the area surrounding
where the CWD-infected farmed deer was found,” Roe said. “We are relying
on hunters and others concerned about wildlife to work with us as we
strive to manage this disease.”
As
part of the Game Commission’s order, which is part of the response
plan, Roe used emergency regulatory authority to set in place a variety
of actions that will impact hunters. Namely:
1.
Hunters within the DMA are prohibited from moving high-risk parts
outside of the DMA. High-risk cervid parts include: the head (including
brain, tonsils, eyes and any lymph nodes); spinal cord/backbone;
spleen; skull plate with attached antlers, if visible brain or spinal
cord tissue is present; cape, if visible brain or spinal cord tissue is
present; upper canine teeth, if root structure or other soft tissue is
present; any object or article containing visible brain or spinal cord
tissue; unfinished taxidermy mounts; and brain-tanned hides. Parts not
considered high-risk include: meat, without the backbone; cleaned skull
plate with attached antlers, if no visible brain or spinal cord tissue
is present; tanned hide or raw hide with no visible brain or spinal cord
tissue present; cape, if no visible brain or spinal cord tissue is
present; upper canine teeth, if no root structure or other soft tissue
is present; and finished taxidermy mounts. To accomplish this, the
agency will contract with processors to be available at the check
station to serve those hunters who plan to move their harvest outside of
the DMA without taking high-risk parts with them.
2.
Hunters who harvest a deer within the DMA during the two-week firearms
deer season (Nov. 26-Dec. 8) are required to bring their deer to a
mandatory check station so that samples can be collected for CWD
testing. For those participating in any other deer season prior to or
after the two-week firearms deer season within the DMA, bringing
harvested deer to the check station is voluntary, but encouraged. Deer
harvested outside of the DMA will not be eligible for testing at the
check station; however, hunters may get their deer checked by the
Department of Agriculture’s Veterinary Laboratory, for a fee, by calling
717-787-8808.
The check station is the Game Commission 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. The check
station will begin operation from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. on Thursday, Oct.
18, through Tuesday, Oct. 23, except for Sunday, when the check station
will be closed. Details about check station hours for the remainder of
the early archery and the regular firearms deer season, as well as the
late archery and flintlock seasons, will be announced at a later date.
The benefit to the hunter is two-fold: the Game Commission will cover
the cost of having the animal tested, and the hunter will be notified if
the harvested deer is found to be infected with CWD. The benefit to
the agency is that it will be able to test a sufficient number of deer
within the DMA without having to resort to culling deer simply for
testing.
3.
Hunters within the DMA are prohibited from using or possessing any
cervid urine-based attractants. Such attractants cause deer to
congregate in certain areas and increases the likelihood that CWD could
spread if it is found in the wild.
Additionally,
Roe noted that the order prohibits the rehabilitation of deer within
the DMA, as those deer will be euthanized and tested for CWD.
The
order also prohibits the feeding of cervids, which causes deer to
congregate in certain areas and increases the likelihood that CWD could
spread if it is found in the wild.
Finally,
those individuals with a menagerie permit from the Game Commission will
be prohibited from transporting live deer into or out of the DMA, and
no new menagerie permits will be issued for locations within the DMA.
The order does not impact cervid livestock operations, which are under the jurisdiction of the Department of Agriculture.
Roe
reiterated that officials from the CWD Task Force, including the Game
Commission and Department of Agriculture, will hold a public meeting at 7
p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 17, in the Bermudian Springs High School
auditorium, 7335 Carlisle Pike, York Springs, Adams County. Staff from
the two agencies will provide background information on CWD, offer an
update about deer farming operations and discuss the potential
management challenges should CWD be found in wild deer populations.
As
noted previously, the physical boundaries of the DMA are: Starting at
the intersection of Interstate-76 and the west bank of the Susquehanna
River heading south along the River (21.8 miles) to US Highway 30.
Westbound on US Highway 30 (18.3 miles) to Highway 116. Highway 116
towards Hanover (13.7 miles). In Hanover, southwest on State Highway 194
(7 miles) to Littlestown, then northwest on State Highway 97 (9.7
miles) to Gettysburg. In Gettysburg, north on State Highway 34 (14.3
miles) to the Idaville Road. East on Idaville Road (4.8 miles) to the
intersection of State Highway 94. North State Highway 94 (2 miles) to
Latimore Road. East on Latimore Road (1.6 miles) to Mountain Road. North
on Mountain Road (6.9 miles) to Dillsburg and the intersection of US
Highway 15. North on US Highway 15 (3.2 miles) to the Yellow Breeches
Creek (County Line). Northeast along the banks of the Yellow Breeches
Creek (12.1 miles) to the intersection of I-76. East along I-76 (6.4
miles) to the intersection of the west bank of Susquehanna River and the
starting point.
On
Oct. 11, the Department of Agriculture announced that the positive
sample was taken from a captive-born and raised white-tailed deer at
1491 New Chester Rd., New Oxford, and tested as part of Pennsylvania’s
intensive CWD monitoring efforts. The sample tissue was tested at the
Pennsylvania Veterinary Laboratory in Harrisburg and verified at the
National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Ames, Iowa.
In
addition to the Adams County location, the Department of Agriculture
has quarantined three other farms directly associated with the positive
deer at 6464 Jacks Hollow Rd., Williamsport, Lycoming County; 61 Pickett
Rd., Dover, York County; and 295 Bremer Rd., Dover, York County. The
quarantine prevents movement of any CWD susceptible animals on and off
the premises.
CWD
attacks the brains of infected deer, elk and moose, producing small
lesions that eventually result in death. It is transmitted by direct
animal-to-animal contact through saliva, feces and urine.
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 may also allow unusually
close approach by humans or natural predators. 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 and the 13th state to have it only in a captive
deer herd.
Surveillance
for CWD has been ongoing in Pennsylvania since 1998. The Agriculture
Department coordinates a mandatory CWD monitoring program for more than
23,000 captive deer on 1,100 breeding farms, hobby farms and shooting
preserves.
In
addition, the Game Commission collects samples from hunter-harvested
deer and elk and those that appear sick or behave abnormally. Since
1998, the Game Commission has submitted for testing more than 38,000
free-ranging deer and elk for CWD, and all have tested negative.
For more information from the departments of Agriculture and Health and the Pennsylvania Game Commission, visit:
* 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”).
Thursday, October 18, 2012
GAME COMMISSION DESIGNATES DISEASE MANAGEMENT AREA IN RESPONSE TO CWD CONFIRMATION ON DEER FARM IN ADAMS COUNTY
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