By ODNR; 1831Galion
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife has confirmed 11 additional white-tailed deer tested positive for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in counties immediately adjacent to Crawford County — Marion and Wyandot.
Seven of the CWD-positive deer were bucks, and four were does. Testing was performed on deer harvested by hunters during the 2022-23 season, as well as on deer taken through targeted removal efforts in February and March. Postseason deer removal is meant to slow the spread of CWD by reducing deer numbers in areas where the disease has been detected.
Since the fall of 2020, a total of 22 wild deer have tested positive for CWD, all in Wyandot and Marion counties (16 in Wyandot, six in Marion). CWD is a fatal neurological disease that affects white-tailed deer and other similar species, including mule deer, elk, and moose. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there is no strong evidence that CWD is transmissible to humans. Find more information about CWD, including a map of known locations, at ohiodnr.gov/cwd.
Sampling for CWD will continue in the 2023-24 deer hunting season. Special deer hunting regulations and hunting opportunities will be in effect in the disease surveillance area of Hardin, Marion, and Wyandot counties.
The Division of Wildlife has extensively monitored and tested deer in the disease surveillance area since CWD was discovered in the wild in 2020. The Division of Wildlife has conducted routine surveillance for CWD since 2002, with approximately 39,000 deer tested. CWD has been detected in 30 states and four Canadian provinces. The disease was first discovered in the 1960s in the western U.S. More information about this disease is available at cwd-info.org.