Public Meeting About Chronic Wasting Disease

Officials with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources have scheduled a public meeting in Breckinridge County to discuss Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD).

This meeting comes in response to the recent confirmation of Chronic Wasting Disease in a deceased deer from a captive cervid facility in Breckinridge County, marking Kentucky’s first detection of the disease in a captive deer.

The public meeting will be from 6:30 until 8:30 p.m. CST on Thursday, November 7, 2024 at Breckinridge County High School, 2019 East Highway 60, in Harned.

Kentucky Fish and Wildlife staff will share insights on Chronic Wasting Disease, including updates on the collaborative agency and partner response, new hunting regulations in the area, and available Chronic Wasting Disease testing options. Attendees will have the chance to ask questions from agency experts after the main discussion.

Chronic Wasting Disease is caused by abnormal proteins called prions and it affects white-tailed deer, elk, and other animals in the deer family. There is no known cure or vaccine, and the disease is always fatal in infected animals. The disease is not known to be transmissible to people, but as a precaution the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends not eating the meat from deer that test positive for the disease. Kentucky Fish and Wildlife always recommends not consuming meat taken from animals that appear to be sick or in poor condition.

Hunters can help Kentucky Fish and Wildlife’s statewide monitoring efforts by dropping off the heads of legally harvested and telechecked deer for Chronic Wasting Disease testing and aging at self-serve Chronic Wasting Disease Sample Drop-Off sites or using Chronic Wasting Disease Sample Mail-in Kits to submit lymph node samples, both offered at no cost. Hunters will be notified if a deer they harvested tests positive for CWD.

Deer that appear to be sick but do not have an obvious injury can be reported using the department’s sick deer online reporting form; reports will be reviewed by the agency’s wildlife health program staff, who will contact the person who submitted the report if additional information is needed.

For the latest information on Chronic Wasting Disease, please visit the department’s Chronic Wasting Disease page on its website fw.ky.gov and follow its social media channels. More information about CWD is available at cwd-info.org and through the Chronic Wasting Disease website.