More Cases Of Deadly CWD Discovered In Louisiana Deer

Chronic Wasting Disease or CWD is always fatal to whitetail deer and until just a few years ago had never been discovered in Louisiana deer.

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Though the disease was all around us with reported cases in Texas, Arkansas and in Mississippi, Louisiana's deer herd mysteriously managed to evade this deer killing disease.

CWD Was First Discovered In Louisiana On January 28, 2022

We did manage to keep it at arm's distance for a number of years while other states were already engaged in the battle, but in January of 2022, CWD was first discovered in an adult buck harvested in Tensas Parish.

Immediately, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries instituted a supplemental feeding ban in what they call a "CWD Management Zone" inclusive of Tensas, Madison and Franklin parishes to mitigate spread of CWD.

However, despite all efforts since that first detection, a number of other Louisiana deer have tested positive for CWD, and now the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries is alerting the public that another three captive deer in pens permitted by the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry have tested positive for CWD.

CWD Discovered in Pen-Raised Deer With Ties To Deer in Bossier & DeSoto Parishes

In addition to the recent detections, deer from the CWD positive pens have been traced to permitted pens in 11 other parishes, including Bossier and DeSoto parishes in North Louisiana.

The overall goal of continued CWD surveillance of harvested deer from these areas will be critical in understanding whether or not the native wild herd has been exposed. Early detection is crucial to slowing the spread of the disease.

LDWF has conducted statewide surveillance of free-ranging deer since 2002. To date, the only CWD detections in the wild have been collected in Tensas Parish.