State officials are stepping up efforts to protect North Dakota's elk and deer from a deadly disease outbreak in other nearby states.
Chronic wasting disease has not been found in North Dakota, and state officials said Wednesday they'll expand a surveillance program in hopes of keeping it that way.
The degenerative disease also has not been found in Minnesota, where state animal health officials have said they are planning to expand their surveillance program.
"It's a big problem if it gets into the state," Gov. John Hoeven said Wednesday.
Hoeven, state wildlife officials, state animal health officials and elk and deer ranchers announced the state's new CWD surveillance efforts at a news conference Wednesday at the Capitol.
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"They really don't know how the disease is transmitted, and they really haven't come up with a way to deal with it yet," Hoeven said. "That's why it's very important to prevent it from getting into our state."
Chronic wasting disease is a fatal neurological disease that afflicts deer and elk. Animals with CWD drop weight, lose coordination and eventually die.
There is no evidence the disease can be transmitted to humans or other species of livestock, said Susan Keller, chief deputy state veterinarian.
Infected elk and deer have been found in six states, including South Dakota, Wyoming and Wisconsin, and the Canadian provinces Saskatchewan and Alberta.
Wisconsin lawmakers have decided to set aside $4 million to combat CWD and have authorized the killing of 15,000 deer to control the disease's spread, Hoeven said.
An outbreak of CWD could hurt the sport of deer hunting in North Dakota and exclude the state's deer and elk ranchers from markets, officials said.
The state's expanded CWD surveillance program mostly involves the state's free-roaming elk and deer because breeders of captive herds got tough regulations passed in 1998 to protect their industry from the disease, Keller said.
Among other regulations, the North Dakota Board of Animal Health strictly controls the importation of captive elk and deer. It also requires that all captive elk and deer that die at 12 months old or older be tested for CWD. More than 700 of the animals have been tested for the disease in the last four years, Keller said.
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North Dakota has 97 elk producers and 28 licensed deer producers, with nearly 7,000 animals in stock, Hoeven said.
The monitoring of wild elk and deer has been less stringent, Hoeven said.
Currently, the state Game and Fish Department has requested tests for CWD only on animals that show symptoms of the disease. Since 1996, fewer than 30 wild elk and deer have been tested, Wildlife Division Chief Randy Kreil said.
CWD can be detected only by removing the animals' heads and having their brains tested for the disease, Kreil said.
To better monitor for CWD among the state's wild elk and deer, the Game and Fish Department will collect about 400 dear heads from meat processing plants during hunting season this fall, Kreil said.
Kreil said the game and fish department will concentrate on deer killed in two areas of the state:
- Southwest North Dakota, because of its proximity to other states where the disease has been found.
- East central North Dakota, because of its dense deer population and high number of hunters.
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The game and fish department also will monitor for North Dakotans who hunt in CWD-infected states, to prevent them from bringing the disease home, Kreil said.
This fall's pilot project could cost more than $50,000. The program will likely be expanded to include other areas of the state in coming years and future costs for monitoring alone could exceed $150,000, he said.
"We have a major effort in front of us, but if helps prevent the disease in the state it would be worth it," Kreil said.
Readers can reach Forum reporter Jeff Zent at (701) 241-5526
