WATERTOWN, New York (WWNY) – An isolated case of Chronic Wasting Disease found locally has New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation on its toes.
The New York State DEC has confirmed an isolated case of Chronic Wasting Disease, or CWD, in Region 6 which stretches from the eastern shore of Lake Ontario to the Western Adirondacks.
Chronic Wasting Disease is a fatal disease that affects the brain and central nervous system of deer and other cervids. The DEC says the threat to the public is low but will continue closely monitoring farmed and wild deer populations.
“We’re taking this very seriously, there’s a huge risk for Chronic Wasting Disease for New York. We have been actively working with hunters across the state to prevent Chronic Wasting Disease from getting into New York, so the presence of the disease here is a strong blow to us,” said New Yor State Department of Environmental Conservation’s Division of Fish and Wildlife, Game Management Section Head Jeremy Hurst.
The DEC says the CWD-positive deer was a captive deer, not a wild one. It would not specify the deer’s exact location, just that it was in our region.S
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