RICHMOND, VA — The Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources (DWR) would like to ask for your continued support and assistance with the Department’s 2022 chronic wasting disease (CWD) surveillance efforts. Each deer hunting season, DWR works closely with local hunters, processors and taxidermists to monitor the geographic spread of the disease and prevalence trends in deer populations.
On November 19, 2022, any deer killed in Orange, Rappahannock or Shenandoah counties is required to be brought to a CWD sample station to be tested for CWD.
Required CWD sampling helps DWR to maximize CWD testing in specific counties. Any deer, or at minimum the head and at least 4 inches of neck, killed in Orange, Rappahannock, or Shenandoah counties on November 19 must be brought to one of the designated sampling stations listed below:
Orange County
Rappahannock County
Shenandoah County
Deer heads plus at least 4 inches of neck may also be dropped at any of the voluntary refrigerator stations in Orange, Rappahannock, or Shenandoah counties on this day to meet the mandatory testing requirement.
Carcass transport is believed to be a risk factor for the spread of CWD. Whole deer and carcass parts containing brain and/or spinal tissue from deer harvested in Disease Management Area 1 (DMA1, Clarke, Frederick, Shenandoah, and Warren counties) may not legally be transported out of DMA1 to other areas of Virginia. Whole deer and carcass parts containing brain and/or spinal tissue from deer harvested in Disease Management Area 2 (DMA2, Culpeper, Fauquier, Loudoun, Madison, Orange, Page, and Rappahannock counties), where fewer deer have been confirmed to be infected with CWD, may be transported anywhere in either DMA1 or DMA2. On November 19th, deer harvested in Orange or Rappahannock counties may be taken to any of the six stations listed above for sampling. Deer harvested in Shenandoah may only be brought to one of the two stations located in Shenandoah County.
DWR strongly encourages hunters who are successful on any other day of the deer hunting season to submit the head and neck from their deer for sampling by bringing it to one of DWR’s voluntary CWD testing sites, which can be found at dwr.virginia.gov/wildlife/diseases/cwd/cwd-information-for-hunters/.
Chronic wasting disease has been confirmed in twenty-six states and three Canadian provinces. In Virginia, CWD has been detected in over 100 deer from eleven counties since 2009. This incurable disease, found in deer, elk, and moose in North America, is a slow-acting and progressive neurologic disease that ultimately results in death of the animal. The disease-causing agent is spread through the urine, feces, and saliva of infected animals. Clinical signs of CWD, which typically do not develop for several months to over a year after exposure, include staggering, abnormal posture, lowered head, drooling, confusion, and marked weight loss. There is no evidence that CWD can be transmitted naturally to humans, pets, or livestock (with the possible exception of pigs). However, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention recommends hunters test all deer harvested from known CWD-positive areas, wait until test results are received prior to consuming the meat, and do not consume any meat from animals that test positive for the disease.
Regulations pertaining to CWD, maps of affected states, and information about CWD, can be found on the DWR website at dwr.virginia.gov/wildlife/disease/cwd.
Contact: Alexandra Lombard, 540-315-6145