By Jessica Domel
Multimedia Reporter

The fatal, neurological deer disease that threatens the state’s captive and wild deer populations has been found in a deer breeding facility west of Falfurrias in Brooks County.

According to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD), the five-year-old white-tailed doe was transferred to the facility from a Frio County facility that had a positive case of CWD last year.

The doe was euthanized and tested for CWD as part of an epidemiological investigation.

This is the first detection of CWD in Brooks County, which is southwest of Corpus Christi.

TPWD reports this is the ninth deer breeding facility in Texas with a positive detection this year.

CWD was also reported in breeding facilities in Frio, Zavala, Sutton, Hamilton, Washington, Gonzales, Hunt and Limestone counties this year.

A free-ranging white-tailed deer in Bexar County also tested positive.

To bring more attention to CWD and the threat it poses, TPWD recently launched a new public awareness campaign on CWD.

The campaign aims to share information with hunters and the public about how they can help protect Texas deer and curb the spread of CWD.

“Many have asked, ‘What is CWD?’” John Silovsky, TPWD wildlife division director, said. “Our goal is to create a greater awareness of the presence and consequences of CWD on the Texas landscape.”

Since it was first detected in Texas in 2012, more than 500 deer have tested positive for the disease.

CWD impacts members of the cervid family, including white-tailed deer, mule deer, sika deer, red deer and elk.

“CWD isn’t a disease where people can afford to stick their heads in the sand,” Alan Cain, TPWD big game program director, said. “The outreach effort is meant to generate discussion, educate folks about the disease, current CWD regulations and what we can do to manage the disease. We have an obligation to current and future generations of Texas to be good stewards of our native deer species.”

CWD is highly contagious with a long incubation period.

Infected animals may not show symptoms of the disease for years, all the while spreading prions in the environment that can infect susceptible animals.

To curb the spread of CWD, as captive and wild animals test positive for CWD, TPWD and the Texas Animal Health Commission implement containment and surveillance zones around the area where the sick deer was found.

Those zones come with restrictions for deer breeders and hunters designed to stop the spread of the disease, including carcass movement restrictions and testing requirements for hunter-harvested deer.

“Texans are still learning about CWD, but we know they love their state and its wildlife,” Cory Chandler, TPWD deputy communications director, said. “This campaign will call on hunters, landowners and the public’s appreciation for Texas deer to build awareness about CWD, reinforce TPWD as a reliable resource and build hunter participation in testing and proper carcass disposal.”

People can report deer that appear to be ill to a TPWD biologist or game warden.

CWD symptoms, which are often only visible in the late stages of infection, are: loss of coordination, droopy head or ears, lack of fear of humans, excessive drooling and dramatic weight loss.

CWD cannot be diagnosed by symptoms alone. Testing is required.

A list of CWD surveillance and containment zones, and the hunter requirements that come along with those zones, is available here.

That website also includes a list of precautions hunters may take when harvesting deer or other CWD susceptible animals.

A recent study from the Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute estimated that Texas hunters and landowners spend $4.3 billion a year on hunting.

TPWD noted that while the impact of CWD on deer in Texas may not be seen this season or the next, if left unmanaged or uncontained, CWD will take an economic toll on Texas.