COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife confirmed 27 white-tailed deer in Allen, Hardin, Marion, and Wyandot counties have tested positive for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) since the start of the 2023-24 deer hunting season.
The Division of Wildlife tested 2,734 deer during the 2023-24 season. Positive samples were found in Allen (one), Hardin (one), Marion (four), and Wyandot (21) counties. Testing was performed on deer harvested by hunters during the 2023-24 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.
Photo: ODNR
Since the fall of 2020, 49 wild deer in Ohio have tested positive for CWD, all in Allen, Hardin, Marion, and Wyandot counties (one in Allen, one in Hardin, 10 in Marion, 37 in Wyandot). Allen County’s first case of CWD was confirmed in November 2023.
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 2024-25 deer hunting season. A disease surveillance area was established in 2021 to monitor the spread of CWD. Additional hunting opportunities and special regulations are in effect in the disease surveillance area, which includes all of Hardin, Marion, and Wyandot counties as well as Auglaize and Jackson townships in Allen County. The Ohio Wildlife Council approved the inclusion of Auglaize and Jackson townships of Allen County in the disease surveillance area for the 2024-25 hunting season.
The ODNR 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.
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