The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has announced it will provide about $12 million to support efforts to control and prevent chronic wasting disease in cervids, which includes deer and elk species. CWD was first identified in Colorado in 1967 and spread outward from there. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) began testing for the fatal prion disease in 2002, and it was detected in wild white-tailed deer populations in 2013. The influx of federal funding will assist states, tribal governments, universities, and research institutions in their efforts to address the spread of the disease. U.S. Chief Veterinary Officer Alan Huddleston says, “Chronic wasting disease poses a serious threat to U.S. wildlife and agriculture. This funding reflects our commitment…to develop innovative solutions and protect the health of our nation’s cervid populations.” About $6 million will fund projects focused on controlling CWD in farmed cervids, while roughly $5.5 million will support research and management efforts for wild populations. Another $500,000 will go toward prevention and management on tribal lands. CWD is an infectious neurological disease, very similar to Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), that gradually destroys brain cells in deer, elk, and related species. Infected animals may appear healthy for long periods while still spreading the disease.
