Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (DGIF) wildlife officials would like to ask for your continued support in the surveillance and management of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). Chronic wasting disease has been detected in twelve deer in Frederick County and one deer in Shenandoah County, Virginia.
The continued existence of the disease in nearby states is also a concern; CWD has been detected in Hampshire and Hardy counties, West Virginia, and Allegany and Washington counties, Maryland.
Similarly to 2015, any deer killed in the CWD Containment Area (comprised of Frederick, Clarke, Shenandoah, and Warren counties) on November 19th or 26th, 2016, must be brought to a CWD check station to be sampled for CWD. Any deer (or at minimum the head and at least 4 inches of neck) killed in the Containment Area on these two days must be brought to one of the designated sampling stations listed below:
- Cather’s Market, 2765 Northwestern Pike, Winchester
- Cline’s Store, 19004 Senedo Road, Edinburg
- Crossroads Grocery, 119 Cedar Grove Road, Winchester
- Gore Grocery, 305 Gore Road, Gore
- Graden’s Supermarket, 6836 John Marshall Highway, Lebanon Church
- Clarke County Fairgrounds, 890 W. Main St., Berryville
- Town & Country Superette, 876 Conicville Rd, Mt. Jackson
- Fort Valley Country Store, 7091 Fort Valley rd., Fort Valley
- Rivermont Shell Gas, 10178 Winchester Rd, Front Royal
- Foodway Supermarket, 2868 Stonewall Jackson Highway, Bentonville
- T & R Processing, 691 Carpers Valley Road, Winchester
We strongly encourage hunters who are successful on days other than those listed above to volunteer the head and neck from their deer for sampling by bringing it to one of our self-service refrigerated drop stations:
- Frederick-Winchester Conservation Club, 527 Siler Road, Winchester (north of Gainesboro)
- Department of Forestry, 265 Lakeview Dr., Woodstock
- North Mountain Fire and Rescue, 186 Rosenberger Lane, Winchester (off Rt. 600, behind Tom’s Market)
- Enders Fire Department, 9 South Buckmarsh St., Berryville
- Elk Lodge, 4088 Guard Hill Rd, Front Royal
In addition to mandatory checking, DGIF is continuing several management actions in the Containment Area in response to the continued presence of CWD in Frederick and Shenandoah counties. Within the Containment Area, these measures include: prohibiting the movement of deer carcasses and parts out of the Containment Area (with exceptions), restricting the disposal of deer wastes from the Containment Area, and prohibiting the rehabilitation of deer. In the counties of Clarke, Frederick, Shenandoah, and Warren, and in the City of Winchester, feeding of deer is prohibited year round and seasons and bag limits on private lands have been liberalized in an attempt to reduce the deer population.
CWD has been detected in 24 states and two Canadian provinces. The disease is a slow, progressive neurological (brain and nervous system) disease found in deer, elk, and moose in North America. The disease ultimately results in death of the animal. Symptoms exhibited by CWD-infected deer include, staggering, abnormal posture, lowered head, drooling, confusion, and marked weight loss. There is no evidence that CWD can be naturally transmitted to humans, livestock, or pets; however, the DGIF strongly advises against consuming meat from any game animal that appears ill prior to death. Anyone who sees a sick deer that displays any of the signs described above should contact the nearest DGIF office immediately with accurate location information. Please do not attempt to disturb or kill the deer before contacting DGIF. More information on CWD can be found on the DGIF website.